


I've Seen How You Sparkle

by Mie1412



Series: TV Show One-Shots [2]
Category: Merlin (TV), One Direction (Band)
Genre: Arthurian Legend AU, Druid Harry, Fantasy, Knight Liam, Knight Niall, M/M, Magic, Medieval, Prince Louis, Swearing, some violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-14
Updated: 2017-04-14
Packaged: 2018-10-18 20:41:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 56,639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10624761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mie1412/pseuds/Mie1412
Summary: Their eyes locked again and Harry blushed, suddenly feeling shy. Louis just smiled at him, tilting his head a little as his eyes ran over the younger boy. Harry self-consciously placed his arm over his stomach, afraid that Louis would somehow see through his clothes and notice the druid mark on his right hip. It was a triple spiral, a triskele. Although it wasn’t that big and fairly easy to hide, Harry was always paranoid that he would maybe stretch too much and reveal the mark.It wasn’t that he actually believed Louis would have him executed, but he knew Louis was fiercely loyal to his father. If it came to choosing between Harry and his father, Harry was honestly not sure what Louis would do.__________Or Louis is the Crown Prince of Camelot and Harry is a druid hiding his magic. It would have been a lot easier if he didn't also have to deal with a forbidden love, a dangerous quest and a whole lot of trouble.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys, remember me? If you do, I love you so much (I love you even if you don’t of course!). I know I’ve been gone for a looong time and I’m so sorry, I never meant for it to take this long. A lot has been happening in my life lately, but I still feel like that’s no excuse – even for myself, I think it took too long. But, it’s here now and I really hope you guys like it! 
> 
> First a few notes: my absolutely lovely best friend helped me beta this fic and did it in record time even though it’s super long – Rikke, this is for you! xx ♥  
> I loooove the Merlin series and wanted to write a fic in that universe. I took the liberty of borrowing the spells and a few plot-points so you’ll probably recognize that if you’ve seen the show. (If you haven’t, go watch it, seriously, do it!)  
> The song is “If I Would Ever Leave You” from the musical Camelot which I thought was very fitting.  
> Rated teens and up because of swearing and some violence. If you’re uncomfortable with something let me know and we’ll work it out. xx  
> Btw, I need to mention that there's no smut in this! Though, I have listened to the many of you who want it, and I think I've found a nice compromise, so I hope you like it. ;) 
> 
> Disclaimer: this is pure fiction and has nothing to do with any real life people. I own nothing about the boys in One Direction, and I own nothing about the Merlin series, I just borrowed looks and small plot-ideas to fit in my own story. Although I doubt it’s going to happen, please don’t send this to any of the boys or their families, it’s meant for your eyes only.  
> Also please don't post this anywhere else, and ask if you want to translate. 
> 
> If there should be any mistakes left, please let me know and I’ll get them fixed! 
> 
> Sources:  
> Harry picture: http://since-he-was-eighteen.tumblr.com/post/140916102726/daisies  
> Louis picture: http://weheartit.com/entry/group/87165251  
> Manip: https://stressedl.tumblr.com/
> 
> I hope you enjoy! 
> 
> ~ Mie

_If ever I would leave you_

_It wouldn't be in summer._

_Seeing you in summer I never would go._

   “HARRY!”

The voice reverberated through the castle, bouncing off the stone walls and empty armors decorating the halls. The usual plain, white walls and marble floor were decorated with colourful drapes and green garlands, fresh flowers in every nook and cranny. Everyone was preparing for the great feast the next night. The spring celebration was an old tradition at Camelot that everyone looked forward to, because everyone was invited to the castle no matter their status. Even most servants were given the night off, or they took turns to ensure they all got to enjoy the celebrations.

A few people raised their heads in mild interest at the sound of the voice, but most of the servants simply ignored the commotion and continued with their work. It was the same almost every day, so it was nothing they hadn’t seen or heard before. Some shared amused looks, chuckling at the scene. 

A young man came running through the halls, weaving frantically through the many people while trying to balance a tray of food on his arm. His long, brown curls were in a messy braid decorated beautifully with white and yellow flowers and his white, puffy shirt buttoned askew and only half up. Despite being in an obvious hurry, he made sure to smile brightly and every single person he passed.  

   “Sorry… excuse me, sorry, I need to get through,” he mumbled apologetically as he stumbled over his own feet, trying his hardest to avoid spilling the food everywhere. Because of the many decorations and servants milling about trying to get everything ready in time for the feast, the halls were almost like an obstacle course. With his lack of coordination it was quite a challenge - he never really had adjusted to his longer limbs after his growth spurt as a teenager.   

He rounded the corner, not looking where he was going as he had gotten distracted by a particularly pretty bouquet in one of the windows, and ran right into something. Letting out a startled squeak, he flailed his free arm in attempt to regain his balance. Whatever – which turned out to be a whoever – he had bumped into quickly reached out to help steady him, and he sighed with relief when finally having both feet planted on the ground again, plate still intact. 

   “Woah Harry, where’re ye goin’ in such a hurry?” the person spoke in a familiar accent and Harry looked up, finding Niall smiling widely down at him. The brown-haired knight wasn’t wearing the usual formal attire, looking a lot less intimidating without the chainmail and the famous red cape of the Camelot Knights. Instead he was wearing a simple white shirt and brown pants, his trusty sword strapped to his hip. “Late again?”

“I was out helping Paul collect herbs last night,” Harry explained with a small grin, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. “I overslept.”

Niall laughed and shook his head, patting Harry’s curls gently as if he was a dog, but didn’t say anything. He knew how fascinated Harry was with healing and medicine. So much so that the court physician Paul had gotten so tired of Harry asking him questions all the time that he just started bringing Harry along whenever Harry had the time. And Harry absolutely loved it, absorbing every bit of information like a sponge. 

Although being the personal servant for the crown prince of Camelot himself wasn’t a bad job, it wasn’t why Harry had originally come to Camelot. He had actually hoped that he would be able to get a spot as Paul’s apprentice, but before he had even made it to the physician’s quarters, he had gotten lost and somehow found his way to the kitchen instead. There he had met the head of the servants, Madame Brunhilde, and she had hired him on the spot and dragged the boy down to the washrooms where she had proceeded to make him wash every dirty sheet in the castle. Apparently the former servant to the prince had been fired for spending too much time at the tavern and she had been desperate to find someone new, so Harry had been there at just the right – or the wrong if you ask him – time.

It meant he had less time to do what he actually wanted, but he was actually quite content with his current situation.   

   “No training today?” Harry asked, noticing the lack of wincing every time the knight moved.

   “Nah,” Niall grinned. “Louis’ busy with preparations for tomorrow so we’ve got a day off for the first time in forever.”

   “You gonna head for the tavern then?”

   “I’m gonna live there until his highness comes and drags me out himself,” Niall cackled, winking at Harry with a sly smile. “Maybe even find meself a pretty lass, who knows?”      

Harry rolled his eyes. How the brown-haired boy had ever become a knight, he had no idea. Niall was from a noble family in another kingdom, but had been sent by his father to join the Knights of Camelot. As the youngest of two sons, it was the only way for Niall to bring honor to his family while his older brother was to take over after their father.

Despite his relaxed attitude, the knight was a highly skillful swordsman. He was small and quick on his feet and could give even the best knights a run for their money on his first day of training. Harry was still both surprised and impressed whenever he saw him fight, so much power from such a small person was truly impressive.

They had actually arrived at Camelot around the same time about two years ago, Harry only a week after Niall, and they had run into each other in the halls of the castle, both very lost. They bonded over the fact that they were both new in the kingdom, and stuck together like they had been glued by the hip the first few months. Harry wasn’t sure where he would be if it hadn’t been for the knight.   

   “HAR _RY!_ ”

Harry jumped, nearly dropping the plate again. The voice was even louder than before and Harry felt a chill run down his spine. He was in trouble.

   “He doesn’t sound very happy, but when is he ever?” Niall snickered, totally unconcerned with the prince’s apparent bad mood.

   “ _Niall_ …” Harry hissed although he couldn’t help but smile a little. The crown prince of Camelot was indeed a bit of a handful. Arrogant, stubborn and infuriating was just some of the words Harry could think of that described the prince perfectly. But also brave, loyal and kind-hearted. Being his servant was admittedly not the easiest job, but Harry wouldn’t trade it for the world. He liked making other people happy, and always made sure to stay cheerful no matter how grumpy the prince was sometimes. He would always get a smile out of him at the end.

And Louis had never been cruel to Harry, demanding and harsh yes, but never more than he knew Harry could handle. And if he ever did cross the line, he would make sure to let Harry know he was sorry. He would never actually apologize of course, he was way too proud for that, but he would go easy on Harry for a few days or let him get a day off. He was a great prince and Harry was sure he would make an amazing king some day.

As he moved to skirt around Niall in attempt to reach the prince’s chambers before he exploded, the knight reached out and nimbly grabbed a sausage off the plate much to Harry’s horror. “Niall!” he gasped and smacked Niall’s hand. “That’s for Louis! He’ll know it’s missing and have me polish everything in the armory!”

Niall just cackled and shrugged carelessly as he quickly chowed down the sausage despite Harry’s protests. “Don’t worry yer pretty little head, Princess Curlylocks, I’ll defend yer honor against Prince High-And-Mighty.”

   “Oh will you now?” someone spoke behind them and the two boys froze, eyes going wide as they slowly turned around and faced the prince.

The prince was actually a bit shorter than Harry, and most of the knights actually, but what he lacked in height, he made up for in his domineering personality. He had soft, brown hair, artfully sculptured cheekbones and piercing blue eyes that would have even the toughest men on their knees begging for mercy with a single look. He was actually quite gorgeous if you asked Harry, but also quite intimidating.

He was glaring at the two, standing in the middle of the hallway with his hands on his hips and it felt like he was towering over them. No matter where he was, he always managed to fill the room with his energy and people couldn’t help but get drawn to him. His personality was bright and shining like the sun, and Harry had always admired that about him.

   “Well, I think that’s me cue t’ leave!” Niall mock saluted the two and quickly scampered off to escape the wrath of the prince, leaving Harry gaping after him. So much for defending his honor.

Louis turned his focus to Harry, arms now crossed and eyebrows raised impatiently, and the younger boy felt himself shrink under the stare. “And where, may I ask, have you been? I’ve been waiting all morning for me food to arrive and here you are, chatting away with the knights like you’ve got _all_ the time in the world.”

With a careful smile, Harry giggled nervously. “I’m sorry sire, I was out collecting herbs with Paul last night and I overslept…” he mumbled, shuffling his feet awkwardly. He never liked letting someone down.

   “And you _overslept_?” Louis huffed like he couldn’t believe Harry would dare do such a thing. He glared at Harry for a few seconds and Harry did his best to look innocent, batting his eyelashes with a small, shy smile, until Louis’ frown softened. With a sigh, Louis’ face melted into the fond smile Harry loved so much. It was a look Harry had only seen on Louis when around his family or Harry, and only when the prince was completely comfortable with letting his formal exterior crumble for a few seconds. 

   “You do know you’re not actually a physician, right?” the prince stated as he headed back to his chambers, Harry following with a little skip in his step. 

Harry beamed at him, knowing his dimpled smile would let him get away with almost anything. “But you know I want to be, Louis! And it was some really rare herbs too, I had to be there. It won’t happen again though, I promise,” he said, blinking at the prince with big doe eyes.    

Rolling his eyes, Louis sat at the giant oak table in his room and gestured for Harry to serve him his food. They both knew very well it would happen again, and Harry was so grateful that Louis hadn’t fired him yet. Harry wasn’t exactly the epitome of professionalism with how often he was late and with how he talked to the prince. He was rarely formal, usually only if around other people who weren’t friends, and he wasn’t afraid to put him in his place if he was being too big headed.

In reality he was treating him as a normal person, but between servant and royalty it was practically unheard of. Louis was different though, he was kind to everyone no matter what their status was, which was why Harry hadn’t been thrown into a cell yet.    

   “Anything else?” Harry asked, bowing his head politely although unable to help his giggle. How he ever got the job he had no idea, he was too friendly to actually be formal and solemn enough. Any other royal or noble would have had him exiled a long time ago.

   “No thank you, Harry,” Louis smiled, ignoring Harry’s poor manners, and started eating.

Meanwhile Harry got on with the rest of his tasks for the day. He changed the sheets and made Louis’ bed, dusted off every surface of the room and swept the floors. Other servants often complained about having to work too much, but Harry actually enjoyed it. He liked having something to do with himself, and cleaning was surprisingly calming.

At some point Louis had finished eating and moved to his desk to go through the stack of paperwork he had been complaining about for weeks. Instead of focusing on his work though, Louis kept glancing up at Harry. The younger boy could feel the eyes on his back as he worked, and he got more and more flustered as the time went on. His face felt hot and he knew his ears were red.

It was something Louis had started doing recently, and Harry did not know how to handle it. Louis’ expression was impossible to read and it made Harry nervous. He unconsciously ran two fingers over his right hip. Did Louis know…? Making himself even more worked up with his worrying, he kept fumbling with the duster and almost knocked things off the shelves multiple times.

Louis suddenly cleared his throat, startling Harry who quickly spun around.

   “Your uh… your hair,” Louis mumbled, looking surprisingly awkward. “It’s… it’s got flowers in it.”

Harry just stared at him for a second, having no clue what to say or do. It wasn’t unusual for him to have flowers in his hair, quite the opposite actually, so Louis really should be used to it now.

   “It does…” Harry confirmed with a small nod, self-consciously reaching up to tug on his braid. Did it look bad? He hadn’t had the time to do it properly that morning, so it was a bit messy but surely it couldn’t be why Louis suddenly decided to notice his hair.

For a second it looked like Louis was going to say something else but then he just nodded with a small frown and looked down at the stack of papers in front of him again. This time he didn’t look up even once as Harry got back to work.

Feeling awkward, Harry quickly finished up his chores in Louis’ chamber and left with a bow of his head. Louis was still staring persistently down at the papers, although his fixed gaze told Harry he wasn’t actually reading. He really was acting weird. Perhaps he was just stressed over the festival, he did have a lot of responsibilities after all. 

Harry took a deep breath, shaking off the awkwardness and smiled serenely out the window. The weather was perfect, the sun shining brightly with a comfortable, warm breeze. It was the perfect weather to enjoy the nature surrounding the castle grounds and Harry was itching to take his horse Gypsy out for a ride.

Spending hours in the lowest level of the castle in the cold, damp armory suddenly didn’t seem appealing at all, but Louis’ armor had to be polished for the feast and it was Harry’s job to do so. He sighed as he entered the dark room, breathing in the familiar smell of mold, rust and polish and he wrinkled his nose. He had never liked it down there. It was too far from fresh air and he was uncomfortable around so many weapons.

Though he was trained to use a bow, actually being quite a skilled archer, it was only for emergencies and he had yet to use it on something living. He hoped would never have to.  

As usual Louis had just thrown his armor onto the floor in one big pile, not caring if it got even dirtier or scratched. He was too used to Harry cleaning everything after him that he was quite the messy person. Harry wasn’t sure what Louis would do without him now.

The left shoulder piece was slightly scratched, probably from getting hit by that morning star during training a couple of days back. One of the knights had gotten brave and challenged Louis to a friendly duel. Louis, of course, won. It took Harry a while, but he finally got it polished enough to look good.

When he looked down at the rest of the armor though, his motivation was gone. It was rare that he gave up like that, but it was a beautiful day outside and he just couldn’t sit inside anymore. It wasn’t in his nature to be confined underground in a stone room. Although Louis only actually needed the right arm for the feast, Harry knew the prince wanted the whole armor to be so shiny he could use it as a mirror.

With a quick glance down the hall, making sure no one was around, Harry smiled to himself. He wouldn’t usually do it for personal gain but it was an emergency, and desperate times called for desperate measures. And if he couldn’t cheat every once in a while, what was the point?

Closing his eyes, he mumbled a few words in an ancient language that only a very few people would understand. As an old habit, he brushed his fingers over the silver ring on his right ring finger, the amber stone feeling warm to touch. He felt a rush of energy run through his body, a pleasant buzz in his veins he had missed dearly, and when he opened his eyes again, they were no longer a bright green.

They were shining gold.

For a fleeting moment Harry looked as if he had wondered the earth for thousands of years, seen kingdoms rise and fall. The Old Religion was woven into the very fiber of his being, the air around him buzzing with powerful magic.

Where magic was usually taught through years of study and practice, Harry had been born with it. Even as an infant, he had showed great potential but was unable to control it. His mother had been at a loss of what to do and had sought help in a nearby druid camp. The druids had welcomed Harry, his mother and sister with open arms and had taught Harry in their ways even before he could speak.

It had been hard for Harry to leave, but he wanted to see what it was like to live without magic. He wanted to learn more about how to heal with the use of the nature around him, about potions and tonics. How people lived without magic fascinated him, so he had decided to head for Camelot.

The air of mystery was lost as Harry’s face broke into a dimpled smile. The armor stood up as if a person was inside and started polishing itself. Harry nodded to himself, satisfied with his accomplishment, and went on to fix a hole in one of Louis’ boots. Double work in half the time, and Harry would be able to get outside faster. So what if he cheated a little, it hadn’t hurt anyone. And it felt really good to finally let go and be himself, it was so rare he got to use his powers.

   “You shouldn’t do that in here, y’know?” someone suddenly spoke behind him and Harry shrieked, jumping up as the armor fell to the floor with a loud clatter that echoed through the room and down the hall.

   “ _Liam!_ ” Harry gasped, a hand on his chest as he tried to calm his hammering heart. “You can’t scare me like that!”

The knight sighed and shook his head, trying and failing to hide an amused smile. “You scare too easily,” he chuckled before turning serious again. “But seriously Harry, you can’t do that in here. What if someone sees you? You know what they’ll do to you.”

Shoulders slumping, Harry hung his head like a scolded dog. As much as he wanted to defend himself, he knew Liam was right. Magic was illegal in the kingdom of Camelot and the punishment was either hanging or getting burned at the stake. Violent and painful deaths. Not something Harry particularly wanted to experience.

Magic had become outlawed after a great dispute between King Daniel and a sorceress. They had made a deal to work together to fight a common enemy but she had ended up betraying him. Ever since then, the king had declared all magic evil and banned it from the land. Druids and any other who practiced magic were hunted and chased from their homes to make sure not one was left in the kingdom.   

Harry had or course known this before he arrived at Camelot, and he’d had his concerns about his safety as a druid. But his curiosity and want for knowledge outweighed the cons and he had left. His mother and sister had not agreed with his decision but knew there was nothing they could do to change his mind.

Of course it was just Harry’s luck that it ended up being Niall and Liam who discovered his secret. He had been out in the woods to find some herbs for Paul, when the temptation had become too much. When going without using his magic for a long period of time he would get restless, like an itch under his skin he couldn’t scratch. He had been in the middle of reviving a patch of flowers when the two knights had come barreling through the brush.

At first Liam had almost dragged back to the dungeon for execution, but Niall had stood up for his friend and managed to convince the other knight that Harry could never even hurt a fly. Niall had of course been hurt that Harry had lied to him and it had taken Harry a while to get his trust back fully.

Now though, the three of them were best friends and he knew the two would defend him with their lives as he would for them. They would take his secret to the grave. 

Paul knew as well, he had been dabbling with some magic back when it was still legal and had some old friends amongst the druids. They had contacted him before Harry left and asked him to look after the young sorcerer. The physician had been a great support for Harry during his time in Camelot and Harry saw him as the father he wished he’d had.

   “I’m sorry,” Harry mumbled dejectedly, peering up at Liam with large, sad eyes.   

The frown on Liam’s face softened and he put a warm hand on Harry’s shoulder. “I’m just worried about you Harry. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

   “I know,” Harry sighed, leaning his head against Liam’s shoulder. He smelled familiarly of grass, sweat and rust, had probably just come back from a patrol. “Thank you Liam.”

They were silent for a few seconds until Liam huffed and looked down at Harry with a small smirk. “I’ll stand guard outside the door, be quick, okay? The others are going to be here in a few minutes.”

Harry beamed and nodded enthusiastically as he jumped up to hug Liam tightly. Liam ruffled his hair fondly before heading back out into the hall, closing the door carefully behind him. As soon as the door was shut, Harry got to work. Once again he muttered the spell under his breath and smiled to himself when the familiar buzz spread through him.

The armor did as before and stood up, polishing itself, but this time Harry picked up his own tools and got to work on it as well. He hummed happily to himself as he worked. He could fix the shoes another time.

Just as he had finished, there was a knock on the door and Harry quickly waved his hand so that the armor fell quietly to the ground again. A second later Liam peeked in, looking relieved as Harry smiled innocently at him with his hands behind his back, armor in a shining pile at his feet.

A few of the other knights Harry didn’t know that well followed Liam into the armory, loud and boisterous as always, and got to work on their weapons as Harry quickly cleaned up his mess. He pecked Liam on the cheek before skipping out of there, laughing at the catcalls that followed him down the hall. Harry was a very tactile person with his friends, and the other knights always loved to tease Liam and Niall about ‘the pretty servant boy’.  

The trip to the stables seemed too long in Harry’s eagerness to get going, but nothing could bring his mood down when there were smiling people, pretty colours and fresh flowers everywhere. He couldn’t wait for the spring feast.

His horse Gypsy was a beautiful skewbald mare whom Harry had trained himself since she was a foal. She was his pride and joy, his best friend and if Harry was ever upset, you would find him with Gypsy.

Gypsy had a box at the far end of the stable, near the draft of the crooked backdoor, but at least she had a roof over her head. If it hadn’t been for Louis, she would have been stabled at the town public stables where there were always too many horses and too little caretakers.

   “Hi girl,” he greeted, voice soothing as he reached out and gently scratched Gypsy between her eyes. “Wanna go for a ride?”

Gypsy whinnied excitedly as Harry let her out of the box and began getting her ready. He never used a saddle or a bit unless it was for longer rides, and even then he preferred not to use a bit. Usually he went for a simple saddle blanket and thin reins, liking how he could feel every single movement from Gypsy without the saddle. They worked together as a team, she trusted him to tell her what to do and he trusted her not to throw him off.    

They took off into the forest, Harry’s laughter getting left behind as the wind was knocked out of him by the sheer force of Gypsy’s speed. It felt like he was flying, Gypsy not even relying on Harry to steer her trough the trees. This was when Harry felt the most alive.

It was only when Harry started feeling hungry, realizing he actually hadn’t eaten lunch in his haste to get work over with, that he began heading back. To cool down they slowed down to a slow trot, this time getting to enjoy the forest scene around them. The many trees were blooming with beautiful green colours, the sunlight filtering through the branches almost like golden bands. Insects were shimmering like glitter when hit by the light, the buzz a pleasant background noise along with the gentle breeze through the leaves and the small creek running beside Harry and Gypsy.

Nature was alive and Harry could feel every single breath.

Gypsy suddenly perked up and slowed down, grabbing Harry’s attention. “What is it, girl?”

Harry followed her gaze and his eyes widened when they landed on two ponies grazing peacefully at the edge of what seemed to be a meadow. They were wearing rather expensive leather tacks and saddles, their manes braided much like Harry’s hair.

As Harry and Gypsy looked on, a third, and very familiar horse, stepped out from behind some brush. It was a beautiful, jet black stallion also decorated with expensive equipment. Gypsy whinnied happily and started walking closer at the sight of her friend and Harry let her, knowing its owner wouldn’t mind.

When closer, Harry jumped off to let Gypsy socialize without him in the way. “Hi Cobalt,” he greeted gently, scratching the black horse’s neck. “Where’s your rider, hmm?”

Cobalt made a vague tilt of his head as if pointing Harry in the direction of his owner before walking right past Harry and towards Gypsy. The two had really bonded somehow and now you could hardly separate them.

Harry laughed and playfully clapped Gypsy on the back before heading off into the meadow. It didn’t take many seconds until he could hear voices and he smiled, trying to ignore the way his heart skipped a beat.

   “No Louis you’re doing it wrong!” a young girl’s voice scolded. “Here let me show you again.”

   “But that’s what I just did!” the prince’s voice rang through the trees, frustration evident and Harry snickered to himself. Louis wasn’t the only stubborn Tomlinson. In fact, he was the oldest of seven, having all of five younger sisters and a younger brother. They were his everything and he was fiercely protective of them.

The princesses and youngest prince were the apples of everyone’s eye and even the knights would bend over backwards to please them. They were experts in acting like sweet, little angels when, in fact, they were as cunning and mischievous as their oldest brother. Pranks especially were their specialty but no one ever dared blame them. They made living in the castle a lot more fun.

Charlotte was the oldest of the princesses being 18, six years younger than Louis, and was currently studying abroad along with Félicité who was 16. They were returning early the next morning for the spring festival, and Harry knew Louis was so excited to see them.

   “Louis you’re ruining it,” another girl chided, voice exasperated in a way only a Tomlinson could do it.

Again Harry snickered to himself before finally moving closer, now able to see the prince and his two younger sisters, Daisy and Phoebe. The two girls were twelve years old but smarter than most children Harry knew. It was kind of scary how much the girls could pick up on even when you thought they weren’t listening.

The two girls were twins and were nearly impossible to tell apart to people who didn’t know them well. Needless to say, they could pull off some genius pranks by switching places and confusing everyone. Harry though had somehow found a way to tell the two girls apart right away, something they had found highly amusing and often tested him in. Sometimes he would guess wrong just to see the smug smiles on their faces.

The two youngest, Princess Doris and Prince Ernest, were still only two. Harry rarely saw them, usually only if he was helping Louis watch them. He loved babies though, and always looked forward to when the queen would leave the two with Louis for some ‘sibling bonding time’ as she called it. Family was very important to the Tomlinsons.

Louis and his sisters were sitting in the long grass, all facing each other and were intently focused on something between them.

As Harry stepped closer to see what they were doing, he stepped on a twig that snapped in half with a surprisingly loud crack. Louis’ head snapped up, hand already on his sword in case he needed to defend his sisters. His eyes widened in surprise when seeing it was just Harry but then his face morphed into something Harry would almost think was embarrassment.   

   “Uh… hi?” Harry said, waving awkwardly as all three royals were now staring at him.

   “Harry!” the girl Harry knew was Phoebe exclaimed happily as she jumped up and ran over to him. “We were actually just –“

   “Finishing up our lunch!” Louis quickly butted in, cutting his now affronted sister off. His face was red and flustered and he wouldn’t meet Harry’s eyes. Just what was he doing?  

   “N _o,_ ” Daisy chimed in, looking at her brother with a confused look on her face before turning back to Harry with a wide smile. “We were just teaching him to make flower crowns! He said he wanted to make one for you because he knows you like flowers so much.”

The two girls kept talking but the sound of blood rushing to Harry’s head drowned them out. He stared at Louis with wide eyes, the older boy actively ignoring Harry’s gaze with his eyes fixed on a tree beside him. His face was as red as what Harry imagined his own was like.

He was making him a _flower crown?_

Harry’s eyes then fell on what Louis had in his hands and he felt his heart skip a beat. In his hands was a dainty, slightly messy flower crown woven with various wildflowers from around the meadow. It was beautiful!

It was like all air was sucked from Harry’s lungs as Louis finally turned and locked eyes with the younger boy. He had never seen Louis look that embarrassed before, that vulnerable. Harry’s heart felt like it was going to beat out of his chest, palms getting all clammy as he played with his ring. Truth be told, Harry had been feeling strange when around the prince for a couple of months now. He would blush all the time, stutter more and his heart always did this stupid jump whenever their eyes met. He had never really allowed himself to think about what that meant… but now…

They looked at each other for a while, neither really knowing what to say or do. Daisy and Phoebe were glancing between them, confused as to what was happening. The three sets of eyes on Harry made him sweat nervously. This was awkward enough as it was, but with a crowd…

Eventually Louis was the one who moved, he took a small step forward and then held out the flower crown, scratching his nose awkwardly. “So uh… here,” he mumbled.

   “Thank you…” Harry squeaked, quickly stepping forward to grab the flower crown. He just held it for a few seconds, staring at it stupidly until Louis cleared his throat and motioned for Harry to put it on. Both boys were still flushing red as Harry carefully reached up and placed the crown on his head. Louis nodded to himself as if satisfied with his work and Harry giggled nervously.

What in the world was happening?

   “Harry!” Phoebe gushed, grabbing onto Harry’s arm suddenly, breaking the spell between him and Louis. “You look like a prince!”

   “A flower prince!” Daisy added excitedly. “Can we braid your hair? Pleeaase?”

   “Uh…” Harry glanced up at Louis unsurely, but the older boy was staring pointedly at the ground so Harry nodded. “S-sure?”

He sat down in the grass and let the girls pull out his messy braid so that they could make a new one. It took a while for them to get it untangled as well as getting all the flowers out of it, but they were surprisingly gentle and Harry closed his eyes with a hum. He loved it when someone played with his hair, so much that Niall often compared him to a kitten. Harry hated to agree with him but it was pretty accurate.

The two girls talked happily while working on Harry’s hair, Harry making sure to nod and shake his head at the appropriate times. Most of the time they talked over each other so Harry actually didn’t get much of what they were talking about, but if he made any mistakes with his reactions they didn’t seem to mind.

Louis was quietly observing them, even though Harry’s eyes were closed he could feel the older boy looking at him. It was hard to try and focus on the girls when knowing Louis was staring unwaveringly with those piercing blue eyes Harry loved so much. Something had shifted between the two lately, Harry couldn’t pinpoint what or when, but he knew something was different. That something had his nerves on end whenever around Louis, and had Louis acting all weird.

And this had really confused Harry - Louis had actually gone and asked his sisters how to make a flower crown because he wanted to make one for Harry. Would a prince normally do that for his servant?

Harry opened his eyes a little, glancing over at where he knew the prince was sitting. Louis was leaning against a tree, looking over at Harry and the girls with a fond smile on his face. Even though he was sitting in the shade, it seemed like his eyes were glowing and his cheekbones were sharper than ever. He looked ethereal, like he had been created by magic.

Their eyes locked again and Harry blushed, suddenly feeling shy. Louis just smiled at him, tilting his head a little as his eyes ran over the younger boy. Harry self-consciously placed his arm over his stomach, afraid that Louis would somehow see through his clothes and notice the druid mark on his right hip. It was a triple spiral, a triskele. Although it wasn’t that big and fairly easy to hide, Harry was always paranoid that he would maybe stretch too much and reveal the mark.

It wasn’t that he actually believed Louis would have him executed, but he knew Louis was fiercely loyal to his father. If it came to choosing between Harry and his father, Harry was honestly not sure what Louis would do.

   “There, done!” Daisy chirped and patted Harry on the back to get his attention.

   “You’re so pretty Harry, I wish I had hair like yours,” Phoebe sighed dreamingly.

Harry moved so that he was now on his knees in front of the two girls. “Oh no princess, I wish I was as pretty as you,” he smiled, plucking two flowers he then placed behind the girl’s ears. They both blushed as he put on his signature charming smile. “The two of you are going to grow into wonderful young ladies, and some day you’re going to find someone who makes you feel like the fairest maiden in the whole kingdom.”

The girls giggled, fiddling with their dresses. Louis however scoffed from behind them and got up to ruffle the girls’ hair.

   “No courting on my watch. Not until you’re at least 30!” he reprimanded sternly, although unable to hide a smile as the girls immediately protested loudly. They talked over each other and tried to use their puppy faces on him, but he just dramatically turned away and put his fingers in his ears. Harry giggled to himself as he watched the siblings. Louis was an exceptional brother and Harry loved to watch him interact with his family.

For a second their eyes met again, Louis’ smile widening so that he now had small crinkles by his eyes, and Harry suddenly had what felt like hundreds of tiny butterflies fluttering around in his stomach.     

 

_Your hair streaked with sun-light,_

_Your lips red as flame,_

_Your face witha lustre_

_that puts gold to shame!_

 

   “Harry, draw me a bath will you?” Louis called from the field where he had been training with the knights all morning. “I can’t go to the feast smelling like this.”

   “You smell like usual though, sire,” Niall grinned cheekily and clapped Louis on the back as he passed him on his way back towards the castle. “Are ye sure it is not just yer nose?”

Louis growled playfully and quickly grabbed the brunette in an arm lock, rubbing his knuckles in his hair. Harry laughed to himself as he headed in to get Louis’ bath ready, Niall screeching loudly as the other knights joined in on the play fight. The knights had always been a rowdy bunch that loved to wrestle around to get rid of pent-up energy and they weren’t afraid to drag the prince around a bit either. Harry knew that Louis loved it though, he liked feeling like just one of the boys and not their crown prince and future king.

It was probably why he kept Harry as a servant too. It certainly wasn’t his skills.

It took a while for Harry to get the tub dragged into Louis’ chambers and even longer to get enough water heated up to the perfect temperature. Louis was very particular about his bath water temperature and Harry had gotten more than one bucket of water over his head after getting it wrong.

He dipped his pinky in the water as he had finally gotten the tub filled and nodded to himself. Just right. Now Louis just had to show up soon or the water would be too cold. Harry had already washed that morning and did not fancy another bath. His hair took ages to dry, and using magic only made it irritatingly frizzy. Magic could fix a lot but surprisingly not hair.

   “I hope the water’s hot, I’m aching all over,” Louis said as he sauntered into the room, stretching his arms with a groan at the burn of the tired muscles.

   “Would you like me to get the lavender bath salts?” Harry asked, wincing in sympathy as he heard Louis’ joints crack whenever he stretched. Despite knowing he would be tired during the feast that night, Louis had insisted on a morning training session with the knights. Why, Harry wasn’t sure, but he had tried to talk Louis into skipping, knowing he would only regret it later. Louis was stubborn though.

   “That would be lovely, Harry. Thank you,” Louis smiled gratefully before disappearing behind the folding screen so that he could get undressed.

Harry hummed quietly to himself as he went to get the bath salts from Paul. It was something Louis would never admit to if ever asked, but he loved the scent of lavender. Whenever he was stressed, hurt or just tired after a long training session he would have Harry draw him a lavender scented bath. When he had first, very reluctantly, asked Harry to get it for him, he had even threatened Harry to promise he would keep it a secret.

   “Harry my boy, what can I do for you?” Paul greeted warmly as Harry entered the castle infirmary, looking up from where he was mixing together some herbs in a mortar. He wiped off his hands in his apron before walking over to Harry. “I’m afraid I don’t have the time for teaching you today, I’ve got a lot of tonics I need to get ready.”

   “That’s okay Paul, I’m just here for some more lavender bath salt. I’ve emptied the last one you gave me,” Harry grinned, unable to keep his eyes from wandering around the room.

It was his favorite place in the castle. The infirmary was divided in two parts – the large part being the ward with beds for patients that had to stay for a night or more, and Paul’s chambers. That was where Paul kept everything he would ever need to treat any sickness he came across, his notes, books and herbs. There were things everywhere, stacked in the corners, piled on top of each other on shelves, lying scattered all over the tables. If given permission, Harry could spend days in there, just getting lost in all the knowledge.

One day, he wanted a space like that. Some place all his own with everything he would ever need when he became a healer himself. His magic could of course do a lot, but there was just something beautiful about using nature magic straight from nature itself. Harry wanted to learn everything.

   “Oh of course, I had a feeling you would be back soon so I already have a new pouch ready for you.” Paul rummaged through a drawer in the desk he was standing by before pulling out a purple pouch about the size of Harry’s hand. “The prince certainly enjoys his lavender.”

Harry grinned and caught the pouch as Paul threw it to him. “He really does. Thank you, Paul. I’ll see you at the feast tonight?”

   “Of course,” Paul guffawed, a deep, joyful laugh that always made Harry feel like home. “Nothing gets between me and my mead.”     

Laughing, Harry just shook his head and went on his way back to where Louis was waiting for him. Just as he was about to reach Louis’ room again, he quickly ducked into a small, dim lit corridor. After listening for a few seconds to make sure there was no one around, he held out the small pouch and muttered a short spell.

Just a little something to help Louis relax and unwind before the feast, as well as some extra healing effects for his aching muscles. Harry was not usually much for using magic on someone without their consent, but this was purely good intentions and not that powerful magic. It could easily just have been from the lavender scent and the warm water – Louis would never know the difference.

He knocked quietly before stepping in. His back was to the room as he closed the door and when he turned around, he dropped the pouch in surprise, blood rushing to his face.

Louis was just about to get into the water, one leg into the tub… and he was completely nude. He was staring at Harry in shock, startled frozen in place. 

   “I – I’m so sorry,” Harry stammered and immediately moved to pick up the pouch before quickly turning back around so that he was facing the door again. His heart was pounding and he knew his face was beet red. It wasn’t like he hadn’t seen another guy naked before… but this was Louis!

   “It’s… it’s fine,” Louis said, clearing his voice awkwardly and Harry could hear him moving into the tub slowly, the water sloshing around a little. “Did you get the lavender?”

Making sure his eyes were locked on his feet, Harry slowly turned around and walked towards where Louis was. He awkwardly held out the pouch, little goose bumps growing on his arm when their fingers briefly touched as Louis took it from him.

   “Don’t use too much,” Harry explained, voice shaky. “Paul put some other relaxing herbs in it as well and it could make you fall asleep.”   

   “Right, thank you.” Louis dismissed him with a small wave of his hand and an awkward smile and Harry hurried out of there, feeling like there wasn’t enough air in the room to breathe. He needed to get outside. He needed to catch his breath before having to go back inside to dress Louis for the feast. Facing the prince like this was not an option.

The image of Louis naked popped into his mind again and he considered bashing his head into a wall to get rid of it.

He was never going to be able to look him in the eyes again.  

Harry looked around in awe, a wide, dimpled smile stretched across his face. The castle ballroom was looking like something out of a dream. Giant tables stacked high with every kind of food you could imagine were placed along the walls, fresh, colourful flowers adorned every possible surface and musicians set the mood with their cheerful music. Everyone were smiling and laughing, the townspeople having all dressed up in their finest clothes as they enjoyed their night in luxury.

It was one of the rare times where everyone was equal.

As he took everything in, his eyes fell on the prince and he couldn’t help but smile. Louis was wearing a red velvet jacket with golden studs that looked almost too good on him, as well as his crown - an intricate golden band with four peaks and a single, red gemstone on the front. It was rare he wore it, but Harry loved how the crown made Louis look so much more confident and regal. Like a true crown prince.

Louis was talking animatedly with his two oldest sisters who had arrived just that day to participate in the feast, and it wasn’t hard to see how cheerful he was and how much he had missed them.

   “Harreh, there ye are!” Niall suddenly cheered right beside him, slinging an arm around Harry’s shoulder and startling the younger boy out of his trance. “Ye’re very pretty t’day.”

Laughing at the already drunk knight, Harry leaned into the touch and let Niall crush him in a hug. “Thank you Niall, you look very handsome as well,” he giggled and kissed the brunette’s cheek. He was secretly pleased at the compliment though, as he had worn his brand new tunic. A beautiful green one with embroidered, golden bands around the neckline, arms and bottom. His mother had spent weeks making it for him.

He had chosen to leave his curls hanging loose and had put on the flower crown Louis had made for him. He may or may not have used a small spell to make sure it never wilted or was destroyed… He just really liked it.  

Niall was wearing his usual brown pants and shirt, but had put on his more expensive leather jacket for the occasion. Usually the knights had to wear their uniforms for formal occasions, but on this night only the knights on duty had to wear the chainmail and red cape. Which was probably a good thing since Niall wasn’t the best representative of the knights at the moment.

   “Dance with me Harreh!” Niall slurred and started pulling Harry out into the open floor, completely ignoring Harry’s protests. The drunken knight was surprisingly strong despite his current condition and Harry eventually gave up and let himself be pulled into an alternative version of the usual spring feast dance.

The musicians noticed what Niall was trying to do and began playing the right music and suddenly everyone was hurrying out to join them. Niall had taken the spot of the male, so Harry was stuck on the outer ring with all the girls. Not that he particularly cared. He had so much fun dancing with Niall, and he knew most of the guys from the village so it was never awkward.

As his current partner, a fairly cute, young boy Harry knew worked in the bakery, spun Harry around, Harry suddenly noticed Louis staring at him from where he was still standing with his sisters. Although Harry was dizzy from dancing, he could have sworn the prince was glaring at him. Or was it the boy he was dancing with?

Before Harry had any more time to wonder about it, he was spun around again and when he looked back, Louis was gone.

The music changed and Harry playfully curtsied at the boy he was dancing before moving to change partners again along with the outer ring. He spun around and then came face to face with Louis, Harry stumbling slightly in surprise as Louis smirked at him and held out his hand.

   “Y-your Highness?” Harry mumbled, confused as Louis effortlessly began to lead him in the dance.

In all the time Harry had worked for the prince, he had only seen him dance with his sisters or when he had been forced to dance with another royal by his father. Never had he seen him actually dancing of his own free will.

Louis just smiled at him like he knew what Harry was thinking and kept dancing. His hands were gentle as he guided Harry though the dance and he moved with such fluency that you would think he spent all his time dancing. Harry’s cheeks felt warm, Louis’ eyes never leaving his face and he suddenly became aware of how sweaty his hands were. Did his hair still look okay?

When they got to the point where Harry was spun around, he noticed how many people were staring at them and his stomach curled into a tight knot. The prince dancing with a servant, no matter if it was the spring festival or not, was unheard of.

   “Louis, m-maybe we should – “ he started to say, trying to pull his hand away from the older boy as he felt the embarrassment wash over him. He hated having people staring at him. Louis however kept a firm grip on his hand so that he couldn’t get away.

   “Louis, please,” Harry begged quietly, desperately. “People are staring.”

Fierce, blue eyes locked with Harry’s green ones. “Let them,” Louis said determinedly, glaring briefly at someone behind Harry before looking back at the younger boy, gaze now soft. “Don’t worry about them, let’s just have fun, yeah?”

A warm feeling spread through Harry’s chest and all the way out to his fingertips and he smiled bashfully at the prince. They had however only danced for a short moment until the music changed again and it was time to switch partners. Again though, Louis just held onto Harry’s hand to prevent him from leaving and just sidestepped Harry’s next partner so that the guy ended up next to the girl beside Harry. It messed up the rhythm of everyone around them for a while until everyone had found a partner, but it seemed Louis couldn’t care less.

With his face burning red, Harry sent an apologetic look at the people around him who just stared back in confusion. Harry was pretty confused himself, but couldn’t help but feel a little smug. Louis wanted to dance with him and only him. Not any of the gorgeous princesses or maidens, just him.

   “You look beautiful tonight,” Louis suddenly spoke up, eyes running over Harry’s form before locking on the flower crown in his hair. A small smirk spread over his lips as he recognized it as the one he had made.

Unlike when Niall had told him the same just earlier that same night, Harry’s heart skipped a beat and he felt slightly dizzy. This was not normal. Louis didn’t normally act like this. He hadn’t been himself lately, but this… Harry didn’t know what to make of it.

   “T-thank you,” Harry mumbled shyly, trying to come up with something to say back to him. His mind was completely blank though, so he settled for a small smile. Louis seemed pleased with his reaction, and returned the smile with a beam of his own.

Just as Harry felt a shift in the atmosphere between the two, like something was going to happen, the music suddenly stopped and everyone turned towards where the king was preparing a speech. Louis bowed and kissed Harry’s hand, a soft smile on his lips before joining his father.

Harry watched him walking away, completely lost for words. Suddenly he wasn’t sure if it had actually happened or if the whole night had just been a dream. Like he had been in one of the many fairy tales his mother told him when he was younger with free magic, princes and princesses and happy endings.

The king started speaking, but Harry couldn’t focus on what he was saying, mind too dazed after what had happened. He vaguely registered that people cheered and raised their glasses in a toast as the king finished his speech, only a little concerned that he didn’t have something to drink himself. He couldn’t stop staring at Louis.

Only when Louis’s face suddenly changed from his beaming smile to one of great concern did Harry notice that everything suddenly had gotten quiet, the sound of someone coughing ringing loudly in the great hall.

People closest to the king gasped as loud thud echoed off the walls and Harry instantly knew that someone had fallen. Louis’ panicked voice was what ultimately broke Harry out of his trance, and he quickly made his way through the crowd to get to them. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Paul doing the exact same thing, and the two shared a concerned look before finally making it to the front where the royal family was gathered around who Harry now saw was Princess Félicité.

To Harry’s horror the girl was already unconscious and very pale, skin looking almost transparent. Paul reached her first and quickly dropped to his knees beside to.

   “Princess, can you hear me?” he asked, gently patting her cheeks. “Princess?”

When she didn’t respond, Paul turned to Harry. “We need to get her back to my chambers, now,” he said urgently and Harry moved to pick her up but was beaten by Louis, who gently lifted his sister up and hurried towards Paul’s infirmary without looking back. As an afterthought Harry quickly grabbed the goblet she had been drinking out of before following. 

The panic was seeping off of everyone in the royal family as they all huddled together by the door in Paul’s chambers. Before Louis had put her down, the princess had started struggling to breathe. Paul had sent Princess Charlotte after some water and a towel after she had demanded to know what she could do to help. Both of the oldest twins had been sent to their rooms despite their wanting to be with their sister, as the queen didn’t want for them to see her suffer. She was barely holding on herself, tears pooling in her eyes. The king was muttering to himself, but Harry didn’t understand what he was saying.

And Louis was pacing around the room as Paul examined his sister, agitated and tense. Harry wished there was something he could do, but hugging the prince in front of the king and queen was not an option.

   “What is wrong with her?” Louis demanded as he finally lost patience. “Is she going to be alright?”    

   “She’s burning up…” Paul muttered to himself, completely ignoring the prince. “Pass me the goblet Harry.”

Harry quickly did as told and handed Paul the richly decorated goblet. While Paul examined the goblet, Charlotte returned with a white towel and a bucket of water and Harry quickly got to work with cooling Félicité down, placing the cool cloth on her forehead. He wanted so much to try a spell he knew would help her fever, but with so many royalties in the room… it was too risky. If they saw him using magic they would have him executed no matter if he could help the princess or not. He needed to get them all out somehow.

   “There is something stuck on the inside,” Paul suddenly spoke up and went to grab a pair of tweezers. Everyone watched in confusion as he pulled out a small, yellow flower petal from the goblet. 

As soon as Harry saw it, he knew what it was and his blood ran cold. The Mortaeus flower. He tried not to let the worry show on his face, but when Paul recognized it as well and frowned, the royal family knew something was wrong. They held their breaths as Paul went to get a book, the physician wanting to be completely sure before giving them the bad news.

It was no use though, Harry was sure. Paul sighed and turned the book to show them a drawing of a yellow flower. “It is a petal from the Mortaeus flower. If touched by magic it becomes extremely poisonous. Someone poisoned by it can only be saved by a potion made from the leaf of the very same flower. It can only be found in the caves deep beneath the Forest of Balor where it grows on the roots of the Mortaeus tree.”

Paul and Harry glanced at each other. If the flower had been touched by magic, the antidote would only work if it too was enchanted. Once they had gotten the flower, they would need to get Harry alone with it. And Harry needed to get the spell right on the first try.

   “But how did it get there?!” the queen asked, voice almost hysterical. “Who would do such a thing?”

The king put his arms around her in comfort, letting out a shaky breath. “It was meant for me. Félicité used my goblet. She… she liked the gems on it, so we switched right before the toast. It should have been me…”

    “Sire… do you think that maybe…?” Paul began carefully, and the king nodded.

    “I’m sure of it, it has to be her,” he confirmed gravely.

Although no one said it, everyone in the room knew who he was talking about: the evil sorceress that had caused the banning of magic from Camelot. Harry closed his eyes, trying to fight the feeling of hopelessness that washed over him. After this, the king would only hate magic even more and Harry would never be able to truly be himself as long as he was in Camelot. How anyone could use magic for evil… it made no sense to Harry. Magic was such a beautiful thing, it should never be tainted by darkness.     

Now the people of Camelot would never experience the true side of magic.

    “What are we standing here for then?!” Louis exclaimed loudly, impatiently. “It says we can make an antidote from the flower, so let me go get it! I’ll - ”

Paul stopped him, holding up a hand. “It’s it not that simple, I’m afraid, Your Highness. The forest is guarded by a cockatrice. A single drop of its venom means certain death. Only very few of those who have crossed the Mountains of Isgaard in search of the flower have made it back alive. It’s too dangerous.”  

    “But what happens if I don’t get it for her?”

    “The flower induces a… a slow and painful death. She may hold out for four, maybe five more days, but not for much longer,” Paul admitted. The queen broke down crying, Charlotte also unable to hold back her tears, and the king let out a pained cry, falling to his knees beside his sick daughter. Harry’s eyes burned with tears as he gently ran his fingers through Félicité’s hair. He hoped she could feel it, hoped she knew she wasn’t alone.   

   “Father,” Louis said, voice thick with tears. “You have to let me do this! We can’t let her suffer, I can get it, I know I can. I’ll take my best knights, we should be able to make it. Let me do this!”  

The king hesitated for a second, but when Félicité let out a weak whimper, he exhaled in defeat and nodded. Louis immediately went into action and stalked out of the room to go and get ready, and before Harry could even think about it, he had jumped up and followed him.

There was no way he was going to let Louis go somewhere that dangerous without him, especially with the magical beasts residing near the caves. As much faith as he had in Louis, he knew he wouldn’t stand much of a chance against the cockatrice. With beasts like that, magic was the best weapon. And while Harry was reluctant to use magic around the king and queen, he had become better at hiding it from Louis. It wasn’t that hard when they were usually in the middle of a fight and Louis’ attention somewhere else.

They hadn’t walked far down the hall before Louis stopped abruptly and spun around, glaring at Harry. “And just what do you think you’re doing?”

   “I’m coming with you!” Harry said determinedly, not letting Louis’ glare affect him. “You’re not doing this alone!”

    “You are _not_ coming with me!” Louis ordered. It was rare he used that tone on Harry, the voice he used when fully taking on the authority of being the crown prince, and usually Harry would back down, knowing his place, but this time he just glared right back. He crossed his arms and stared challengingly at the prince.

    “ _Harry!”_ Louis hissed exasperatedly. “You are not coming with me, it’s too dangerous. And I’m not going alone, Liam and Niall are coming with me.”

   “I’m going,” Harry simply stated. “You can’t stop me.”

Louis cursed and ran a hand trough his hair in frustration. “Harry please,” he begged, voice suddenly soft and desperate. “This is not one of our usual trips, this is dangerous. I can’t… I can’t lose you.”

Harry breathed in sharply, the tense atmosphere around them shifting like the sky clearing after a storm. They stared at each other, both a little speechless at Louis’ sudden confession. Even though Harry knew Louis appreciated having him around, Louis had never actually said out loud what Harry meant to him. It was taboo, Harry was supposed to be a replaceable servant and while just about everyone knew that it wasn’t like that, it was never spoken.

He swallowed around the growing lump in his throat and stepped closer to the prince. “You’re not going without me,” he repeated softly. “I need you safe too.”

For a second, all Louis’ walls came down. He looked impossibly small and scared, fearing what would happen to his sister if he failed, what would happen to his knights and Harry… what would happen to himself. Louis was the greatest warrior in Camelot, but he was human too, something the people often forgot. He had fears and doubts too, but he was rarely allowed to show it, having to put up the façade worthy of the Crown Prince of Camelot. The people needed a leader, not a self-doubting prince.

As soon as they were down though, they shot back up. His face turned hard and he nodded at Harry once before turning, briskly walking away. Harry took that as an invitation to follow and quickly got moving to make sure he didn’t get too far behind, knowing Louis would leave him if he was even a second too late.

As if knowing that Louis needed them, both Liam and Niall were both geared up and waiting for them by the stables by the time Louis and Harry had packed all they needed. Despite Niall’s earlier state he was surprisingly sober now, looking like he hadn’t even had one drop of alcohol all night. They both nodded at Louis, no words needed for him to know that they had his back.

The sky was dark and moonless as they set off, the sound of thundering horse hooves echoing through the night.

_But if I'd ever leave you,_

_It couldn't be in autumn._

_How I'd leave in autumn I never will know._

_I've seen how you sparkle_

_When fall nips the air._

_I know you in autumn_

_And I must be there._

By the time they had cleared the Mountains of Isgaard, it was way past noon and they had to stop to get some rest. They hadn’t slept since the night before and were all exhausted. Liam had nearly fallen off his horse one time where he fell asleep, and Niall was finally showing the signs of being hungover. So, while they all wanted to push on and keep going for Félicité, they all knew that they wouldn’t get far without some rest. They would be useless in a fight.

So they found a fairly hidden spot behind a hill and set up camp, deciding they would continue at the first light the next morning. They had made good progress and wouldn’t get too far behind by staying the night. Whatever time they lost, they could make up the next day.  

Liam and Niall both fell asleep as soon as their heads hit the ground, but Harry and Louis sat silently by the fire, both unable to sleep. Louis was too worried about his sister, and Harry was worried about Louis. And the princess of course. But Louis was his first priority, as selfish as that sounded. He just… he cared about him a lot and seeing him this broken was heartbreaking. He looked so small and lost, so far from his usual cocky attitude.

   “Louis… she is going to be okay,” Harry mumbled, trying to sound encouraging as he peered up at the distraught prince. “We’ll be back with the antidote before she’ll know we were missing.”

Instead of answering, Louis just picked up a stick and started poking the embers almost aggressively. His eyes were empty and far away, and Harry wondered if he had even heard him.

They sat in silence for a while until Louis suddenly huffed and angrily chucked his stick into the flames. “This would have never happened if the world was free of magic! Nothing good ever comes from sorcery, it does nothing but corrupt and kill!”

It felt like someone reached in and tore Harry’s heart out. He turned his head away so that Louis wouldn’t see the tears he was fighting to hold in. When Louis was younger, it had not been unusual for him to go on a rant about magic being evil whenever someone brought up the topic, but Harry had hoped that as the boy had grown, so had his mind. He knew Louis would never come to fully accept magic, but he had wanted so much for him to just realize that not all magic was evil.

That was never going to happen now.

He kept quiet as Louis continued his raging, not wanting to give himself away as he knew his voice would be shaky. Once he had carefully tried to point out that magic had healing abilities as well, that it wasn’t necessarily evil, and Louis had just stared at him as if he was crazy. So he gave up trying to educate him.

Knowing that someone so close to you would never accept who you are… it hurt so much.

Eventually Louis ran out of words and he sighed deeply before smiling sheepishly at Harry. He didn’t apologize for his words, never did, but as far as the prince knew, he didn’t have anything to apologize for. And as always, Harry just smiled back weakly, beginning to process of piecing his heart back together again.

To try and hide how hurt he actually was, Harry feigned a yawn and laid down with his back to Louis, knowing the prince would keep watch over them. Louis would wake one of them up when he knew he couldn’t stay awake any longer. He knew his limits.

Just as Harry was about to fall asleep, he suddenly felt something touch his cheek. He twitched but kept his eyes closed, heart hammering away in fear. Had he actually fallen asleep and someone managed to sneak up on them? What happened to the others? The person touching him sighed and Harry realized it was just Louis. His mind relaxed now that he knew he wasn’t in danger, but his heart stuttered as Louis kept caressing his cheek, the touch gentle and light as if he was afraid to touch him.

   “What are you doing to me?” the prince mumbled. “I don’t know how to be around you.”

Harry fought to stay awake, wanting to hear if Louis was going to say anything else, but his exhaustion eventually took over and pulled him into a deep, dreamless sleep. 

Normally being in a forest filled Harry with serenity, his magic thriving in the pure nature, but the Forests of Balor made him feel uneasy. The air felt charged with the promise of danger and his magic was humming with restlessness. It felt hard to breathe, like the air was too thin.

An eerie fog limited their visibility and if it wasn’t for Harry’s instincts, he would have thought they were going in circles. He could see why most people who entered here never came back, lost to wander the woods until they died. Even the birds, if there were any, were dead quiet.  

    “Is anyone else feeling like someone is staring at us?” Liam asked, voice quiet as if not wanting to disturb whatever could be out there.

No one answered, but they all felt it. That feeling of someone standing right behind you, breathing down your neck.

Their horses were all nervous and reluctant to go further, and Harry felt so bad forcing Gypsy into this situation. He never wanted to put her in danger. Trying to calm her down was futile, she knew exactly where she was and what the risks were. But she trusted him to protect her and make sure she made it back safe, and he was not going to break that trust.

   “We’re not far now,” Louis spoke up, trying to sound reassuring. None of them had of course ever been to the Caves of Balor, but their location was common knowledge. Everyone knew where they were so that they could make sure to never come near them. They were also excellent for scaring children into doing what they were told to do – otherwise the cockatrice would get you while you slept.   

Somewhere close by a twig cracked loudly, the sound echoing through the silence, and they all froze. And then all hell broke loose. Suddenly there was roaring coming from all around them, burly men in rags coming running out from behind the trees with their weapons raised.

They were surrounded.

Instinctively all three knights drew their swords and charged. They were outnumbered but not many stood a chance against the Knights of Camelot. Harry stayed back, knowing he would only get in the way. It was not the first time they had been attacked by bandits, and it would not be the last. He already knew how it would play out. Still, he felt an anxious knot form in his stomach as he watched Louis take on three bandits on his own.

He had never seen anymore more skilled with a sword than the prince, but numbers made a great advantage in battle, and right now, the advantage was on the other side.

An arrow suddenly came whizzing by Harry’s head, only narrowly missing his ear and he immediately flung himself off of Gypsy. “Go,” he gasped at his horse, wanting her out of danger, “ _Run!”_

Gypsy hesitated for a second, staring at Harry with large, shining eyes before she turned around and galloped away. He had no doubt she would make it back safely, she was a smart horse, she knew how to take care of herself. They would be reunited as soon as they returned to Camelot with the flower, he was sure of it. He would rather walk to the ends of the earth than have Gypsy harmed.  

As he ducked on the ground, he noticed that Louis and Liam too were off their horses, both surrounded by bandits while Niall was still swinging his sword from the back of his horse. They were holding their own despite their low numbers like Harry knew they would.

One of the bandits suddenly turned around from where he had been fighting Liam and charged at Louis’ back. The prince was too preoccupied by the three bandits he was fighting to notice, and before Harry had even thought about it, he held out his hand, “ _Forbærne firgenholt_ ”.

His eyes glowed gold as there was a loud crack and a thick branch fell on the bandit before he could make it to Louis. It hit him with a sickening thud and Harry closed his eyes tightly as the bandit went down, knowing it had probably killed him. His chest felt tight, but he couldn’t panic now. He had done it to save Louis, it had to be done. He could grieve when Louis was safe. When they were all safe.

The bandits who had noticed the branch falling stood stunned, giving Niall a chance to put them down. One of them managed to strike him with their sword though and Niall came tumbling down from his horse.

Harry was up and running towards him before his mind had even fully registered what had happened. Miraculously he made it to the fallen knight without anyone noticing, the bandits having turned their full attention on Louis and Liam. Harry fell to his knees beside his friend as he reached him and turned him on his back gently.

There was a small but deep gash on his upper thigh but otherwise he seemed unharmed. He even managed to crack a smile as his eyes focused on Harry. “Harry, my angel,” he sighed, wincing as Harry accidentally jostled his leg. “Just who I wanted to see. Now please fix me so I can cut of that cunt’s legs. He may be dead but he’s not takin’ ‘em with ‘im to the grave.” 

With a weak laugh Harry made sure his back was to Louis, then closed his eyes and gently placed his open palms on Niall’s wound. “ _Wel cene hole.”_

The wound closed slowly, Niall cursing at the sting of it. He staggered to his legs, shaking the previously wounded one to see if it was really healed and then smacked a loud, sticky kiss to Harry’s cheek. “Thanks my love,” he grinned before picking up his sword, screaming loudly as he ran towards the nearest bandit.

As Harry looked around, he was relieved to see that no more bandits had showed up and that Liam and Louis had managed to cut their numbers.

He wasn’t able to do much to help, the risk of Louis noticing too big now that there were less people for him to focus on. As much as he hated hurting someone, he hated having to see his friends fight while he couldn’t do anything. He felt useless.

   “Harry, what _are_ you doing?!” Louis suddenly shouted, now a lot closer to the younger boy than before. “Go hide you idiot, don’t just stand there!”

Unfortunately the few seconds Louis was focused on Harry, one of the bandits managed to strike the prince and Louis stumbled backwards towards Harry. The younger boy didn’t even think as he picked up the nearest rock and hurtled it at the enemy. Instead of hitting his head like Harry had hoped, it barely grazed his shoulder and didn’t even halt his attack on Louis.

Instead Harry closed his eyes and quickly hissed out, “ _Flíeh hrǽgl!_ ” He smirked as he heard a surprised shout and a thud as the bandit tripped and fell over his own feet. Without hesitating, Louis swung his sword down, Harry flinching at the sickening sound of metal hitting flesh. He would never get used to that.

   “Oh for goodness sake Harry, get out of the way!” Louis swore, roughly pushing Harry away as he turned to deal with yet another bandit. “Do something useful for once in your life!”

Harry huffed but did as told and quickly scurried over to hide behind a tree. When Louis was in one of his moods it was easier to just follow orders. When Harry first had started working for the prince and didn’t yet know about his temper, the hurtful words that often followed Louis’ temper had put Harry to tears multiple times. Now though, he knew the prince never truly meant any of it. It was just his way of showing he cared. At least Harry hoped it was.

He did a headcount and was pleased to see that there were only a handful of bandits left. They were winning. Of course they were. He had never had any doubts they wouldn’t.

Suddenly he felt a shiver down his spine and he turned around in time to see that one of the bandits had managed to sneak up on him. He let out a startled shriek and stumbled back onto his arse, scooting back as the bandit came closer, grinning menacingly. He thought Harry was defenseless.

But he wasn’t.

About to raise his hand, Harry got distracted as he suddenly heard Louis shouting his name. Unable to stop himself, he glanced over, giving the bandit just enough time to strike.

   “HARRY!”

Louis’ voice was the last thing Harry heard before he felt a heavy blow to the head and everything got dark.

   “Come on Harry, wake up.”

Harry felt his fingers twitch but it felt like his body was lined with lead. He couldn’t move. Someone was speaking to him, but the voice echoed uncomfortably in his head so he couldn’t make out who it was.

   “Come on, you useless buffoon! Wake _up!_ Don’t you _dare_ skip out on your duties like that _,_ my chambers still needs cleaning and you have my armor to polish when we get back.” The voice of whoever was speaking cracked and they took a second to compose themselves. “Don’t you think for a second that I can’t find someone more qualified to replace you! Someone who will actually follow orders!”  

Harry’s eyes fluttered open for a second but the sudden light set off an explosion of pain in his skull. He shut his eyes tightly and let out a pitiful groan. The person above him gasped and suddenly there were careful hands running over his chest and face. “Harry? Harry, wake up!”

   “Too loud,” Harry whined, writhing uncomfortably on the ground.  He blinked a few times, the person above him slowly coming into focus. Blue eyes peered down at him, wide and worried.

Louis.

It was Louis who was currently running his fingers through Harry’s hair. 

   “Ugh… what happened?” Harry mumbled. “Where are we?”

Instead of answering, Louis did something that caught Harry totally off guard. He kissed him. He thanked God, leaned down and kissed him square on the mouth.

The sound of blood rushing to his head was deafening and Harry’s body went completely still. What was happening? He must really have hit his head because he was hallucinating. He _must_ be.

Before Harry’s mind had the time to recover from the shock, Louis had pulled back and Harry’s eyes widened as he saw what he was sure were tears in the prince’s eyes.

   “Bloody hell, Harry, don’t you ever scare me like that again, you hear me?!” Louis ordered weakly, grabbing the front of Harry’s shirt tightly.

Still in a daze, Harry just stared blankly up at the older boy. “Y-you kissed me?”

Louis laughed, sounding slightly hysterical and reached out to gently run his fingers down Harry’s cheek. For a long while, they were both silent, Harry waiting for Louis to say something and Louis trying to figure out what to say. All the while, Louis kept caressing Harry’s face gently. The only sounds around them were the wind and dripping water.

They were in a cave, Harry realized. Probably still in the Forests of Balor. It was lit by torches, the flames casting an eerie glow on the rock walls. By the lack of noise around them, Liam and Niall weren’t with them, most likely standing guard outside or patrolling the perimeter. At least it gave him and Louis some privacy for… whatever it was that was happening. Harry’s head still hurt like hell and his vision kept fading out if he stared at one spot too long. Maybe he really was hallucinating.

   “You enchant me, Harry,” Louis eventually mumbled, and Harry’s heart jumped at the choice of words. If Louis ever found out about his magic that is exactly what he was going to think Harry did to him.

   “I don’t understand what you make me feel,” the prince continued softly, unaware of Harry’s short, internal break down. “But I can no longer ignore it. You mean too much to me and seeing you like that… I cannot lose you, Harry.” 

   “Louis…” Harry was speechless. Never in all of his years alive had he ever thought this was going to happen. It felt like he had no air left in his lungs, like his whole body was burning. His magic sizzled just beneath his skin, fighting to break free and explode into a thousand stars.     

The prince’s eyes suddenly widened and he pulled back as if he had been shocked. Harry’s mind yelled ‘no come back!’, but he was too confused and dazed to get the words out. “My God, you do not feel the same, do you? I’m so sorry, Harry, I never meant to – I didn’t –“

The words began to jumble up in Harry’s head and he squinted his eyes in pain, wanting the prince to stop talking. He was making no sense to Harry at all. The ringing in his ears got louder and he let out a small whine, cutting Louis off as he immediately was beside Harry again, worried hands running all over his body. Harry could barely make out the words when Louis frantically asked how he could help, what he could get or do to make it better.

Somehow Harry managed to slur out some herbs he knew would soothe his headache and Louis left him with a quick kiss on his forehead to go get them.

While Louis was gone, Harry was fading in and out of consciousness, having to fight to stay awake. At some point he noticed Niall had joined him in the cave, the knight gently dabbing his forehead with a wet cloth. He was speaking quietly to Harry, but Harry couldn’t quite understand what he was saying.  

When Harry awoke again, Louis had returned to his side and was cursing frustratedly at something. He tried to turn his head but failed as it only sent a jolt of pain through his spine. Just what had the bandit hit him with?

   “Here Harry, drink up,” Louis gently spoke next to him. A hand under his head gently helped him lift it, Harry groaning pitifully. Something cold was placed by his lips and he obediently drank the tonic Louis had made from the herbs. It was very bitter and Harry scrunched up his nose. When done, his head was gently placed back on what he assumed was a shirt. Fingers softly ran through his hair and he hummed contently, headache already decreasing.

Then they were gone and Louis moved like he was going to leave, but Harry weakly reached out towards him. “Stay…?” he mumbled groggily. “Please?”

Louis hesitated but then moved so that he lay down beside Harry, gently putting one of his arms around Harry’s middle. They were silent for a while, Harry slowly beginning to relax as the headache faded. His head started feeling clearer as the pain went away, and he could finally start focusing on what was going on around him.

Like the fact that he was currently cuddled up to the Crown Prince of Camelot, who had also just kissed him.

Harry had known for a while what his feelings were but he had denied himself to put words to them, to actually feel them. He knew it was pointless, it would never work. Louis was a prince, Harry was a servant. Louis hated magic with every fiber of his being, Harry _was_ magic. In the end, Harry would only get his heart broken into a million pieces. There would be no happy ending.

But… there was a tiny voice in Harry’s head, telling him that if Louis really did have feelings for him, really did care, then he would at least hear Harry out when Harry eventually got brave enough to tell him who he really was. If Louis just gave him a chance, he could show him what magic truly was.

Suddenly remembering why they were even there in the first place, Harry shot upright, his vision blurred by pain as his head was jostled. Louis sat up quickly as well, confused.

   “Louis! How long have we been here? We need to go, we need to – to get the flower,” Harry rambled frantically, trying to get up. They only had days to get the flower for Princess Félicité, they couldn’t afford to waste any time. What if it was already too late? What if - ?

    “Harry, calm down, _Harry!_ ” Louis grabbed onto Harry’s shoulders, making Harry look him in the eyes. “It’s only just passed midnight, we still have three days. Now _sit down_ for goodness sake, you are not properly healed.”

Although he was shaking his head, Harry did as told and let Louis guide him back onto the cave floor. Louis pulled out a blanket from somewhere and put it over the younger boy, and it was only then Harry realized just how cold he actually was. He shivered and whined, reaching for Louis in hopes of getting him to lie down beside him again.

The prince chuckled, but didn’t move from where he was sitting beside Harry much to Harry’s disappointment.

   “Harry…” Louis suddenly said, sounding hesitant. “What happened between us before… I –“

   “Did you mean it?” Harry cut him off, heart suddenly in his throat.

Louis looked at him confused, like he couldn’t believe Harry had actually just cut him off like that. Then he suddenly looked embarrassed, cheeks flushing red, and he huffed out a breath. “Of course I meant it you oblivious idiot.”

What felt like hundreds of butterflies were fluttering around in Harry’s stomach as he watched the blush spread over Louis’ cheeks, feeling his own heat up as well. This was really, truly happening. Despite every part of Harry’s brain screaming at him that it wasn’t a good idea and that it would only end in heartbreak, Harry went with his heart.     

He couldn’t help but giggle to himself. It was actually happening.

   “Are you _laughing_ at me?” Louis asked affronted, looking at bit like Harry had just slapped him.

   “No.” Harry beamed up at him. “I’m just really happy.”

Relief washed over Louis’ face, his shoulders sagging as the tension left his body. He smiled shyly before reaching out, grabbing Harry’s hand and intertwining their fingers. They locked eyes and giggled stupidly, high on their happiness. Louis lifted their joined hands and pressed a gentle kiss to Harry’s wrist.      

All Harry’s worries about his magic disappeared, this was Louis. Louis would never hurt him. There was still one question Harry had been dying to ask though, and he was kind of nervous to hear the answer.

   “Louis… what about your parents?” Harry mumbled, unable to look Louis in the eye in fear of what he was going to see. Louis was loyal to his father and the kingdom more than anything else, and Harry respected that. It was one of the things he loved about Louis, his fierce loyalty. He was just afraid he would have to eventually watch Louis get married and have children with some princess his father had chosen for him. He wasn’t sure he could sit by and watch that happen. His heart wouldn’t be able to handle it.

Louis sighed, but was silent for a while. He lazily drew random patterns on the back of Harry’s hand with his finger, contemplating what to say.

   “I think… I think my mother might know. I’ve never been good at hiding anything from her.” Louis chuckled, finger now softly running up and down Harry’s arm. “My father… I honestly don’t know. But I do know that they want me to be happy. My mother believes you should always marry for love, my father is maybe… a bit harder to convince, but he’s a fair man. And I have plenty of sisters to eventually give me an heir. They may not be mine, but they will still be a Tomlinson.”

He looked up, soft eyes looking into Harry’s. “There is no reason to worry. My mother adores you, and I know my father values trust and loyalty. You’ve been nothing but good to me, he’s seen that. You’re kind and loyal, you’ve given me advice when I had to make tough decisions. You’ve always seen me for who I am.”

Harry couldn’t hold back a sob, tears now streaming down his cheeks. All of this time… he had no idea Louis thought so highly of him.       

   “You’ll make a great king someday.”

Harry’s heart stopped. Louis was not just a prince, he was the Crown Prince of Camelot. Once his father stepped back, he would become king. And if Harry was by his side…

How could Harry ever be king?

   “Harry,” Louis said softly, squeezing the younger boy’s hand as if knowing what he was thinking. “I will be right there with you. You have all the right qualities to make a good and fair king, and everyone already adores you. I have no doubt in my mind that you’ll be amazing. Please, do not worry.”

Although he still felt terrified at the thought of the future, the pleading look in Louis’ eyes was enough to calm Harry for now. With Louis by his side, nothing could go wrong. He knew Louis would always support him. He managed to smile nervously up at Louis, and it seemed that it was good enough.

Louis smiled somewhat shyly and slowly leaned down over Harry so that their noses were nearly touching. He shivered as he felt the older boy’s breath on his lips. If he moved up just a little…

Making the decision for him, Louis playfully rubbed his nose against Harry’s before slightly tilting his head and sealing their lips together. Harry let out a small gasp into Louis’ mouth, shutting his eyes tightly as he felt them shimmer with gold. Somewhere in the distance he heard what sounded like rocks falling, but at the moment he was too preoccupied to even try and focus on reining in his magic. Was the ground shaking?

He reached up and grabbed onto Louis’ shoulders tightly, the feeling of the cold chainmail sending shivers down his spine. A breathless whine left his mouth as Louis moved back to take a short breath and he heard Louis chuckle. So what if he was desperate, he had wanted this for so long even if he hadn’t fully known it.

Wanting Louis to come back, Harry tugged impatiently on Louis’ chainmail. The prince laughed happily but complied and Harry could feel his smile as their lips once again connected. A warm, tingly feeling spread through Harry all the way out to his toes and he was sure that if Louis wasn’t there to hold him down, he would float up and disappear into the sky.   

   “Harry, Louis are you okay? The ground suddenly started shaking and – _what the hell_?!”

Liam’s voice startled Harry so much he nearly knocked his head up into Louis’, eyes flying open. He expected for Louis to jump back and maybe act like nothing had happened, but instead the prince huffed against Harry’s lips and moved one of his hands to Harry’s shoulder to keep him still. Despite knowing they now had an audience, Harry simply closed his eyes again and let himself enjoy the moment.

It was only when they heard Niall clear his throat pointedly that Louis finally sighed and looked up at the two knights. “Do you mind?”

Liam and Niall were both staring at them, eyes wide. Liam’s face was flushed red, he was probably mortified after walking in on his superior doing something private. He had always taken his duties very seriously and it had taken Louis a while to get him to relax when around him.

Niall on the other hand was grinning smugly, looking almost proud, and Harry felt his cheeks heat up as they locked eyes and Niall wiggled his eyebrows.      

   “We just… we were worried because the ground started shaking and stones came falling from the ceiling. One almost got Niall. We wanted to see if…” Liam glanced at Harry and Harry knew Liam had figured out it was his doing. He needed to practice some self-control now that he knew Louis would make his magic lose control. “We wanted to make sure you two were okay.”

    “Well, as you can see, we are perfectly fine,” Louis said, and Harry could have sworn he was pouting. “Or, we were at least.”

Harry giggled and squeezed Louis’ hand. Perhaps it was for the best that they were stopped. Mostly because Harry didn’t want to accidentally hurt someone with a rock slide, but also because they were in the middle of a very important quest. They could not afford to get distracted, not when they were so close.

They could continue exploring the new side of their relationship when they made it home.

   “We should probably get some sleep,” he said. “We need to be ready for tomorrow, you never know what could happen.”

Louis sighed, glancing disappointedly at Harry’s lips before nodding. He then stood up, brushed the dirt off his pants and looked at Liam and Niall. “I’ll take the next watch. Get some rest.” The two knights nodded and began packing out their blankets. Right before Louis went outside, he turned around and gave them a small smile. “Thank you… for everything.”

As soon as Louis was gone, Liam and Niall were over Harry, shouting questions at him in low voices so that Louis wouldn’t hear. Harry shushed them but when they wouldn’t shut up, he put his hands in front of their mouths to make sure they stopped talking.

   “Is there any way we can skip this?” he pleaded desperately but both the knights frowned and shook their heads sternly. There was no getting out of it. “Fine… one at a time, please.”

   “Good to see ye finally got yer heads outta yer arses,” Niall grinned, clapping Harry on the back. “It’s good to see ye happy.”

   “Thank you, Niall.” Harry blushed, touched at his words.  

Liam smiled tightly, but his eyebrows were wrinkled in a frown. “Have you told him? About… you know?”

The smile fell from Harry’s face and he blinked sheepishly up at Liam, whose eyes widened in disbelief. Even Niall shook his head in disappointment.

   “ _Harry!_ ” Liam hissed, glancing at towards the opening of the cave quickly to see if Louis was within earshot. “This is not something you can hide from him! If he finds out somehow, and you haven’t told him… Harry this is a terrible idea, you need to tell him!”

   “I agree,” Niall added, though much softer. “Louis trusts you with his life, Harry. He’ll be crushed if he finds out from someone else.”

Harry bowed his head, feeling tears well up in his eyes. He knew they were right, there was no doubt Louis would be mad when Harry eventually tells him, but if someone told him before Harry could… Harry’s chances of getting forgiven were very small. If he wanted to have even the slightest chance of Louis forgiving him, he would have to tell him himself.  

But he couldn’t do it now. Louis had way too much going on, it wouldn’t be fair to burden him with something this big on top of it all. It would just have to wait until Princess Félicité was safe.

   “I… I’ll tell him once we are back in Camelot. I don’t want to distract him, not now,” Harry mumbled, trying to assure them as much as himself. He did not want to lose what he had with Louis now that they had finally figured their feelings out.

They understandably did not look very convinced, but they both knew that Harry was right. It was no use fighting with him about it now as there was nothing they could to about it. Not without starting a major argument that would definitely get Louis’ attention. They would just have to trust that Harry would do the right thing in the end. Even if he didn’t completely trust himself.      

The sun had just started showing in the horizon as they continued their way through the forest. The fog had lifted somewhat but it was still difficult for them to navigate.

After they had woken up, Niall had regretfully told Harry that Gypsy had run away, not knowing Harry already knew. Harry still wasn’t worried though, he knew she could take care of herself. She would be much safer if she was not with them. Niall had been surprised by Harry’s lack of sadness and had handed him his bow that gypsy had dropped with a puzzled look. He knew by now not to question the druid and just let it go. The bow was not strung around Harry’s shoulder along with the quiver.

Louis had then of course demanded that Harry ride with him the rest of the way and had practically put the younger boy on his horse himself when Harry tried to protest half-heartedly. With a silent apology to Cobalt for the extra weight, Harry had let Louis do as he wanted. Sometimes it was much easier to just follow orders.

He hummed to himself, putting his chin on Louis’ shoulder to get a better look ahead. Louis turned his head, smiling when their eyes met and quickly nuzzled their noses together before looking back straight ahead. He had been quite tense ever since the ambush the day before. Harry knew he felt responsible for Harry getting hurt although Harry had tried to reassure him that there was nothing he could have done.

Tightening his grip around Louis’ waist, Harry closed his eyes and let himself relax for a little while. Louis’ warmth and the rhythmic walk of Cobalt nearly lulled him to sleep but he forced himself to stay awake. He had been so nervous about eventually having to tell Louis that he hadn’t gotten much sleep. But it was no time for sleeping now, he could rest when they got back home.

Despite having gotten the healing tonic, his head was still sore and he had a dull ache just behind his eyes that wouldn’t go away. His head felt like it had been stuffed with wool. He didn’t even want to think about how bad he would have felt if Louis hadn’t gotten him the herbs.

He winced and groaned as Cobalt accidentally jostled him and Louis, his head sending a jolt of pain down Harry’s spine. A nice, warm bath would really do wonders. Maybe he could even convince Louis to lend him his, as it was a lot bigger than the small bucket Harry usually used. That was… if Louis still wanted anything to do with him after finding out who he truly was.

Suddenly it felt as if his stomach had turned into a ball of ice. He knew he had to tell Louis, the prince deserved to know especially now that he was defying his duties as crown prince just to be with Harry. Actually doing it however… Harry was terrified.

Before he could dwell on it more though, Cobalt came to a sudden halt and began stepping nervously on the spot. Harry looked up from Louis’ back and noticed the otherwise even forest floor had suddenly turned into a steep mountain. Multiple cave openings covered the stone wall and Harry felt like he had hundreds of eyes staring out at him from the darkness.

They dismounted their horses and tied them to a couple of trees not far from the caves. The horses were unsettled and it pained Harry to have to hold them so close to what was distressing them. He just hoped and prayed that the cockatrice would keep away from them. Unfortunately he didn’t know any protective spells that could keep the beasts away.

   “Well this certainly looks cheerful,” Niall stated dryly as he drew his sword.

Louis sent the knight a sharp glare before he glanced around at the others. His eyes lingered on Harry’s face for a beat longer than the others’, he then took a deep breath, lit the torch in his hand and headed into the cave.  The others followed slowly, holding their breaths as they were engulfed in darkness. 

The caves smelt pungent and moldy, the air around them feeling clammy like it had been still for hundreds of years. It was eerily quiet, Harry feeling the hair in the back of his neck stand on end. He felt like he was trespassing, like he shouldn’t be there. The caves felt unnatural, like they had been created by humans. The walls were too smooth, the tunnels too wide to be natural. It thrummed with magic.

Somewhere water was dripping but otherwise the only sounds heard was the quiet breathing of the knights and Harry.

Harry tightened the grip on his bow. Something in his gut told him he was going to need it.

The tunnel then gradually opened up, getting wider until it suddenly opened up into a cave even larger than the castle ballroom. Harry looked around with wide eyes. Even with the torches, the orange light casting ominous shadows on the rocks, they couldn’t see the end walls. When he looked down he noticed a giant chasm cutting through the room. If they had not had any light with them – or had just been unfocused for a second – they would have walked right into their doom.

   “There they are!” Louis suddenly exclaimed, startling the three others. Harry followed Louis’ finger to where he was pointing and felt relief wash over him when his eyes landed on a batch of pretty, yellow flowers.

The Mortaeus Flower! 

The only catch though, was that they were on the other side of the chasm.

   “How are we supposed to get them?” Niall asked, swinging out his arm to point out the very obvious obstacle. “It’s not like any of us can actually _fly_.” The knight sent a pointed look at Harry, who glared back at him.

Even if Harry actually was able to fly, which he was _not,_ it was not like he could do anything with Louis near him anyway.

   “Well…” Louis hummed thoughtfully, looking around to try and come up with a plan. “I guess I’ll have to jump.”

   “ _No!_ ” Both Liam and Harry immediately disagreed. Louis just raised an eyebrow at them and demonstratively dropped his sword on the ground, taking a few steps back to get a running start. Completely ignoring their protests, Louis took off and leapt right off the edge.

Harry held his breath as Louis was suspended in mid air for a short, terrifying moment until he finally got a hold of the opposite wall. Only when Louis’ feet were firmly planted on a ledge, Harry allowed himself to breathe out.

   “Are you in _sane?_ ” Harry screamed, suddenly feeling angry. He picked up a handful of small pebbles and began chucking them at the prince. “You could have died you absolute moron!”

Most of the pebbles missed, Harry didn’t want Louis to fall after all, but he continued screaming at him until Niall eventually shut him up by practically stuffing a hand in Harry’s mouth. Now unable to speak, Harry crossed his arms like a petulant child, glaring at the knights.

It was Harry’s responsibility to protect Louis, but when he kept insisting on being reckless and stupid it made Harry’s job really hard to do. For someone who was supposed to stay alive to take over the kingdom once his father stepped back, Louis did not care much for his own life. The second someone’s life was in danger, Louis would lay down his own to save them. It was a trait that Harry both admired and hated.

   “Relax Harry, I’m obviously fine. I wouldn’t have done it if I didn’t think I could, now would I?” Louis said mockingly, but his words were softened as he smiled reassuringly at Harry. “I just wish I could have jumped a little higher. I can’t reach the flowers from here.”

Even with his arm stretched, the tips of his fingers barely reached the roots of the flowers. He would have to try and climb a little higher, and Harry watched nervously as Louis slowly began moving his foot to try and find grip. The wall was steep and smooth, very hard to climb. One wrong move…

Slowly but surely Louis began making his way up the rock wall, taking his time to find the right places to hold onto. At least now he was thinking about his safety.

Harry was so focused on watching Louis, wanting to be ready to use magic if necessary in case he suddenly fell, that he didn’t notice how the darkness of the chasm suddenly seemed to come alive. Only when Niall suddenly made a sound of distress did Harry let his eyes move away from Louis. He blinked once. Twice. But still it seemed as if the darkness below them was moving, pulsing. Moving upward. 

   “Uhm Louis, ye better hurry up. Something’s happenin’ and I don’t wanna stay around to find out what,” Niall begged anxiously, drawing his sword.

Liam drew his sword as well and adjusted his stance. He was ready to fight.

Suddenly out of the darkness came a giant spider. Niall shrieked loudly and jumped back in fear, Louis yelping loudly as he slipped in surprise. “What is going on?” the prince asked loudly, looking around to see what had scared Niall. “What is happening, tell me!”

   “Just get the flower!” Liam yelled, drawing a dagger from his belt. As the spider was about to reach the top, he threw the dagger at it, sending it back down into the black hole.

It was still for a moment, none of them moving. They hoped it had been just the one, but knew it was probably not alone. Louis was so close to the flower now that he could almost reach the stems and Harry mentally urged him to move faster. He did not want to stick around to meet the rest of the spider’s family.

Shakily, Harry lit up one of their spare torches. He glanced over at Liam and Niall who both nodded at him, and then he dropped it into the chasm.

What he saw made his blood run cold.

Hundreds of spiders were making their way up the walls, some as big as the royal hunting dogs. They were everywhere. They were too many.

   “Louis we need to leave,” Liam shouted, voice shrilly. “We need to leave, right _now_!”

   “I’m too close to give up now, Liam!” Louis shouted back, stretching as much as humanly possible. He was _so close!_

One of the spiders was about to reach Louis’ boots and before Harry had even thought about it, he had drawn his bow, lit an arrow on fire and made a perfect shot right between the front legs of the spider. The creature screeched loudly as it caught on fire and tumbled from the wall, taking multiple of its species with it.

Liam and Niall were staring at him wide eyed. Although they knew Harry had a bow, they had never actually seen him use it. Not even for practice as Harry found it uncomfortable to practice violence in front of someone. They probably thought he had exaggerated his skills to not lose face.

Not paying any attention to the two other knights, Harry kept sending flaming arrows flying over the gorge to get any spider that came too close to Louis. And when another spider suddenly crawled up right in front of them, Niall and Liam quickly snapped back into focus too and tried to fight them off the best they could. Loud screeches echoed almost deafeningly through the cave as spider after spider was sent falling back into the darkness. For now they could hold them down, but not for much longer, they were too many.

As Harry reached back for another arrow from his quiver, his fingers closed around thin air. He had run out of arrows already. He looked around desperately, multiple other spiders were already about to reach Louis. Making a risky decision, Harry whispered a short spell and drew his hand back from the quiver. The air in his hand now felt solid and Harry sent it flying like he would have with a real arrow. The invisible force hit the spider closets to Louis’ boots and luckily it was enough to send it falling.

To minimize the risk of Louis noticing, Harry kept drawing his hand back to his quiver as if drawing another arrow, muttered the spell and then fired it. With the poor lighting in the cave and all the chaos going on, no one would notice he wasn’t actually firing real arrows unless they looked really close.

Finally Louis let out a cry of victory as his hand closed around the flowers, and he quickly stuffed them into a small pouch tied around his belt. “I got it!”

   “Great, now can we please get out of here?!” Niall screamed, waving his sword almost frantically to fight off the spiders. Every time they cut one down, three more came crawling up.

It seemed the situation finally dawned on Louis as he got a first look around him, and he let out a surprisingly high squeak as a spider Harry had missed came close to grabbing his boot. He managed to kick it back into the chasm, but had to crawl a bit higher to evade another one. Harry was struggling to get them all and he was so tempted to just summon a wind and blow them all away, but until he was completely sure they couldn’t handle it, he would have to make do with his bow.

   “Louis you have to jump now, we can’t hold them back much longer!” Liam ordered, sweat dripping down his face from the exertion of having to fight off the spiders. Harry himself was beginning to feel drained as he was not used to using magic for this long.

Louis swore to himself as he moved around on the rock wall, trying to find a place where he could get some solid footing so he wouldn’t fall when attempting the jump back. What he probably hadn’t thought about was the fact that he would not be able to get the running start when hanging on the wall. Harry tried to focus on the oncoming spiders, but his eyes kept trying to flit up to Louis. He was so worried that he wouldn’t be able to get a good enough offset from the wall.

If it came to it, Harry would have to be ready to save him from the fall. He could not let him die.

As Louis finally found what he seemed to deem a good enough foothold on the rocks, he took a deep breath and let out a roar as he pushed off from the wall. Niall lurched forward in case he needed to help catch the prince and Liam swung his sword around violently to clear the area.

Louis reached out and for a second Harry felt like the ground disappeared from under his feet as it looked like he wouldn’t make it.

And then his fingers caught on the edge, Louis now just about hanging on. His legs dangled dangerously over the dark chasm, the spiders getting too close for comfort. Niall was on him immediately, hauling the prince up over the edge and out of danger.

The four of them quickly retreated back into the narrow part of the caves which was fortunately not festered with spiders. Niall and Liam walked backwards to keep the spiders away while Harry and Louis led the way with their torches. The sound of hundreds of spider legs crawling over rock sent chills down Harry’s spine but he didn’t dare turn around to look. He didn’t want to know.

It seemed like they had walked for an eternity and they were beginning to get desperate for sunlight. Liam and Niall were both exhausted and wouldn’t be able to hold out for much longer. The spider’s numbers were not dwindling the slightest, they had no chance unless they got out.

Just as Harry was beginning to worry they had taken a wrong turn on their way out and had gotten hopelessly lost, a small stripe of sunlight finally appeared ahead of them. Harry felt like crying with relief.   

They burst out into the forest, Louis and Harry turning around to help fight off the spiders. When the first spider crawled into the open air however it screeched loudly and scurried back into the caves like it had been burned. And then, almost if they hadn’t even been there in the first place, the spiders vanished.

Both Liam and Niall sunk to the ground in relief, panting like they had run for miles. Sweat was dripping from their hairlines and their arms shaking from the strain.

   “Paul’s book didn’t mention any spiders!” Niall complained loudly after catching his breath.

   “Probably because no one has survived meeting them,” Liam muttered darkly, staring anxiously into the cave opening as if afraid they would suddenly come running out.

   “Well I’ll make sure to write it in the book meself then,” Niall grumbled, wiping the blood from the spiders off his sword in a small patch of grass. “Or better yet, put a giant bloody stone in front of the cave. If I never see another damn spider again it’ll still be too soon!”

He continued grumbling to himself but Harry tuned him out and instead turned his focus on their horses, which were luckily still both alive and well. As he reached out to pet Cobalt, he noticed how bad he was shaking but he swallowed down his shock and started humming. Both to calm the horses, and to calm himself.

The adrenaline in his body was wearing off, leaving him feeling weak and scared. His arms ached, his head was pounding. He tried to listen for birdsong, or any form of nature that could help calm his nerves, but there was nothing but eerie silence. No animals wanted to live in these parts of the forest. And with good reason. Harry didn’t even want to be there.

Just as he had closed his eyes to take a deep breath, he felt something touch his shoulder and he whipped around in a panic, reaching for his bow and arrows that weren’t there.

   “Whoa Harry, it’s just me,” Louis exclaimed startled, holding his hands up in surrender. Seeing the wild look in Harry’s eyes, the prince sighed softly and pulled the younger boy in for a tight hug. Harry trembled in his arms as Louis gently rubbed his hands up and down his back.

   “It’s okay my love, we’re safe now. Relax. You’re okay.” Louis voice was soft as he mumbled reassuring words into Harry’s hair.

Harry breathed in shakily and sniffled. “Please Louis, you have to stop putting yourself in danger,” he begged quietly, voice breaking slightly. “My heart can’t take it.”

   “I wouldn’t be me without the risks now would I?” Louis chuckled, pressing a kiss to Harry’s temple. When he noticed Harry’s wasn’t quite impressed with his joke, he huffed out a breath and placed two fingers under Harry’s chin, forcing the younger boy to look up at him. “I’ll be more careful in the future, I promise. But you know I had to do this, and I will have to again in the future, it’s my duty.”

Of course Harry knew this. He did not like it, but he knew it came with Louis’ title. And even without the title, Harry was sure Louis would have still been willing to risk his own life to save others. It was just who he was. And at much as Harry hated it, he admired it greatly as well.

They all saddled up in silence, all eager to finally get out of the forest and back into the sunlight. Harry rode with Louis again, holding onto the older boy tightly. Once they got back to Camelot they could not show their affections as freely, so they had to enjoy the little time they had together now. Even if they were in a hurry to get back.

Every once in a while, Louis would gently grab onto one of Harry hands and lift it up to his lips, placing a gentle kiss on the back of it. Every time Harry would blush and hide a smile in the back of Louis’ neck, avoiding the insistent stares of the two knights travelling beside them.

Shouting woke Harry up from where he had apparently fallen asleep, head resting on Louis’ back. His vision was blurred as he looked up, his head now throbbing with pain again. The herbs must have worn off.

Cobalt jostled violently and Harry let out a startled yell as he was suddenly knocked off the horse. He couldn’t feel Louis anywhere near him and he looked around frantically, trying to pinpoint any shape in his hazy vision that could resemble the prince.

The yelling around him was getting louder and he squeezed his eyes shut in pain, the loud voices reverberating through his aching skull. What was going on?

Someone grabbed onto his upper arm and started dragging him along the forest floor, Harry barely managing to stumble to his feet. Whoever had a hold of him kept tugging insistently on his arm as they sprinted through the forest, Harry falling more than actually running. There was a loud hissing sound somewhere close to them, but Harry wasn’t sure if it was just the sound of his throbbing skull.

He suddenly stumbled and fell, taking whoever was holding into him down too. He rolled for a few seconds then came to a slow stop. Everything was spinning, the sound of his blood rushing through his veins roaring in his ears. Someone yelled but Harry couldn’t understand them. Squeezing his eyes shut, he tried to will the pain away. Without his senses, he was nothing.

By some miracle, the pain actually faded enough for Harry’s sight to turn clear, and he was able to stumble shakily to his feet. Niall’s voice sounded loudly in his ears, and he turned slowly to find the two knights trying to fight off what Harry could only describe as a monster.

A giant, mud-coloured lizard with what looked like spread wings on its back. Giant fangs dripped with venom and a forked tongue tasted the air followed by an ominous hiss.

The cockatrice.

Harry looked around for Louis desperately, heart nearly beating out of his chest with fear of what he was going to find.

   “ _Harry, RUN!”_

Louis’ voice suddenly rang through the forest, ringing clearly in Harry’s ears. The younger boy spun around, his eyes finally landing on Louis.

His heart sank to his stomach, blood running cold. Louis was on the ground, crawling backwards to try and reach the sword that was lying way out of reach – and another cockatrice was looming over him, venomous fangs dangerously close to his legs. To make matters worse, Harry noticed a deep gash on Louis’ right leg, a distressing amount of blood trickling onto the forest floor. There was no way Louis was going to win this fight.

A hissing suddenly came from Harry’s left, and Harry turned to find a third cockatrice making its way towards them.

Tears welled up in Harry’s eyes as hopelessness washed over him. He watched paralyzed as the third cockatrice headed straight for Louis, the prince now too weak and drained from the blood loss to move. Liam and Niall were barely holding up against their cockatrice. They were doomed.

_“WÀCE IERLIC!”_

Golden eyes shone with unshed tears as Harry held out his hands. The three cockatrice screeched loudly as they were thrown back several feet by a powerful invisible force. Harry now had the undivided attention of the three beasts that were already back on their feet. As magical beings, he needed more powerful magic to hurt them.  

They circled him, long, forked tongues coming out to taste the air. No doubt they knew he was powerful, even Harry could almost taste the magic buzzing in the air. His whole body was humming with it, burning to let his rage take over. And this time, he let it.

One of the cockatrice launched at him, but Harry quickly raised his hand and yelled, “ _Ástryce!_ ” Mid-launch, the beast was thrown back against a cluster of rocks and landed on the ground with a sickening thud. Even without the distinctive sound of bones breaking, Harry knew it had broken its back. Not even a magical being would be able to come back from that.

He turned to the last two, eyes not even able to turn from gold back to green before he hissed, “ _Forbærne yfel._ ” A ring of flames burst out from the forest floor, forming a ring around the two remaining cockatrice, effectively cutting them off from getting closer to Louis and the knights.

His stomach churned as he looked at the now helpless cockatrice. No matter what creature, Harry did not enjoy inflicting pain. But they had hurt his friends, they had hurt Louis. If not stopped, they would have killed him. Harry could not let that happen. He needed to make sure they wouldn’t follow them.

   “ _Cume hay forbearnar.”_ He closed his eyes as he cast the spell. The sound of flames roaring to life momentarily drowned out the cockatrice as the flaming ring filled with fire… then they were screaming in pain. Harry didn’t have to look to know the flames were eating away at their scaly skin.

The haunting screams echoed in the forest, Harry squeezing his eyes shut. It was necessary… it had to be done. He had no choice.

He had no idea how long he had stood there, listening to the dying cockatrice when he suddenly heard Liam scream out, “LOUIS, NO!” Before he had even opened his eyes, Harry was tackled to the ground, all air knocked from his lungs as his back hit the forest floor. His vision turned blurry as he struggled to breathe. Something cold was pressed against his neck and his heart stopped as his eyes locked with icy blue ones.

   “How did you do that?!” Louis demanded almost hysterically, pressing his swords against Harry’s throat.

   “Louis please- “ Harry begged but was cut off.

   “ _Tell me!”_ the prince demanded again. “Where did you learn to do that? Were you sent to kill my father? Who even _are_ you?!”

Tears welled up in Harry’s eyes as he tried to hold back a sob. “I was born with it!” he cried. “I’m not here to hurt anyone, I swear! I – I’m only here to learn about medicine. Please Louis, I would never hurt anyone!”

   “ _LIAR!”_ Louis screamed, once again pressing the sword harder against Harry’s throat. The cold blade sent chills down Harry’s spine and he whined pathetically, tears streaming down his face. “Who sent you?!”

   “No one!” Harry sobbed. “Please believe me!”

The sword was pressed even closer and Harry knew it had cut his skin. He cried out, squeezing his eyes shut. He couldn’t believe Louis was actually going to kill him. All his worst fears were coming true. Louis’ feelings for him obviously weren’t strong enough for him to even hesitate about killing him. Harry should have known - Louis’ hatred for magic ran too deep.

The cold blade disappeared as the prince was suddenly ripped away from him, and he opened his eyes to find Niall and Liam holding him back. Harry’s hand came up to his neck and sure enough, the sword had left a small scratch, though not deep enough to bleed. His heart was pounding so hard it was almost painful, and he tried to catch his breath but it kept hitching as he couldn’t stop crying. 

   “Louis, stop! Listen to him,” Liam insisted, struggling to hold down Louis’ arms. “Harry would never hurt anyone, you know that!”

Louis’ eyes widened in disbelief and he stopped struggling, shocked. “Did you know?!”

The two knights didn’t even hesitate to nod, knowing fully well they were admitting to treason. Louis started struggling even more and managed to rip his arms free, but ended up falling to the ground because of his injured leg. He scooted back on the ground away from them, staring at them with hurt and betrayal shining out of his eyes.

   “How could you?!” his voice shook with anger as he looked around at them all. “I trusted you! All of you! How could you hide this from me?!”    

   “Just listen to him, Louis,” Niall spoke calmly, holding his hands up to show he meant no harm as he slowly walked towards the prince. “Give him a chance to explain himself, please. It’s not what you think.”

Everything was silent for a while, the only sounds coming from the still burning fire and Harry’s quiet sniffling. The cockatrice were long dead, the smell of ash hanging over the forest like a heavy blanket. Harry had curled in on himself, feeling cold all over.

Louis had actually tried to kill him. No matter how much Harry tried to convince himself that he wouldn’t have actually gone through with it, the mark on his throat spoke for itself. Had it not been for Liam and Niall being the loyal friends they were, Harry would be without a head now.

Finally Louis sighed in defeat and looked up at Harry, ice cold eyes sending daggers at him. Every hint the love he’d had for Harry only minutes ago was gone. “Explain,” was all he said, voice emotionless.

   “I…” Harry’s voice shook and he took a deep breath to try and calm himself. This would be his only chance to win back Louis’ trust. “I don’t know how, but I’ve had… magic –“ Louis huffed angrily and Harry flinched. “I-I was born with it… the magic. My mother had no idea what to do with me, I… she knew nothing about magic. So she went to the druids for help. They taught me how to control it - they taught me everything I know. But they are a peaceful people, I know you know that, they would never hurt anyone unless threatened.”

   “You’re a druid…” Louis’ monotone voice cut him off, and Harry felt the lump in his throat grow, a new wave of tears welling up in his eyes as he nodded. Slowly he reached down to pull at his shirt, revealing the symbol on his hip. He heard Louis inhale sharply and when he peeked up at the prince, he had almost turned his back on him, pointedly looking at everything but him.

   “I came here to study medicine, I promise,” he continued, desperate to have Louis at least look at him again. He hated how Louis was so cold now. So distant. “I never thought I would end up working for you, I swear. I just… I just wanted to be normal.”   

Again Louis fell silent for what seemed like an eternity. No one dared to say anything.

Harry stared at his trembling hands. Although he hoped so, so much that Louis would somehow forgive him, or at least not hate him too much, he knew it was next to impossible. If Louis’ first instinct had been to kill him… there was no way Louis would forgive him. And honestly… Harry wasn’t sure if he could forgive Louis either. He had actually tried to _kill_ him – someone he claimed to care for so deeply he was willing to go against his parents’ wishes and ancient traditions. He had seen a side of Louis he knew existed, but never thought would be turned on himself. Even if Louis by some miracle ended up forgiving him, Harry would always worry about what Louis was actually thinking about him.

A hate so deep never truly went away.

   “You are banned from this kingdom,” Louis eventually spoke up, his voice firm and stoic. He looked at Harry, but it was as if he was actually looking right through him. “If I ever see your face in Camelot again, I will have you executed.”

Harry’s heart sank to his stomach. Liam and Niall began protesting loudly, but Louis shut them up with a withering glare. “I should have you hanged for treason!” he snapped and they gaped at him. “But that would mean losing two of my best men, and seeing as good knights are hard to come by, I am willing to make an exception. But this is your final warning, if I find you hiding something from me again, you will face the same fate as the druid. Is that understood?”

   “Yes, sire,” both Niall and Liam mumbled, heads bowed as he scolded them. He may be their friend, but he was also their prince and they knew when to stand down. Harry sent them a weak smile – they had done enough, more than he could have ever asked of them. They had been the best friends he could have ever wished for.

   “I’ll leave,” Harry agreed, ignoring the crushing sadness spreading through his body. “But I cannot leave until I know for sure Princess Félicité is cured. The poison was made with magic, so the antidote will not work unless touched by magic as well. I need to be there to make it.”

It was obvious that Louis was about to protest, but what Harry had said seemed to sink in and he closed his mouth, lips pressed together tightly. “Very well.”

He moved towards the horses but nearly stumbled and fell as he put pressure on his injured leg. Liam was luckily close enough to catch him. As soon as Louis was stable on his feet, he violently shook off Liam’s hands and Harry noticed Liam’s face fall. The knight took respect very seriously, and Harry knew he had worked hard to gain mutual respect between himself and Louis. All that was lost now thanks to Harry. He was a terrible person.

   “You are in no fit state to travel right now, my lord,” Liam spoke almost timidly, head bowed so he wouldn’t look Louis in the eyes. “Your wound needs tending to.”

   “We do not have time, Liam,” Louis said sternly, stubbornly trying to take another step towards his horse. Again he stumbled, but managed to steady himself before falling. 

   “If you would let Harry heal you, we wouldn’t need time,” Niall suggested bravely.

Louis nearly snapped his neck turning to look back at Niall. If looks could kill, Niall would have dropped dead. “He will not touch me,” he hissed with so much venom in his voice that Harry felt like crying again.

The two knights exchanged looks and nodded at each other. Then they suddenly moved towards the prince, pinning him to the ground before he had even realized what they were doing. He thrashed about, screaming at them to let him go but this time they stood their grounds and managed to keep him pinned underneath them.

   “Do it, Harry!” Niall ordered. Harry hesitated, not wanting to use magic on Louis against his will. But he knew that the wound was too deep to be treated on the spot with only herbs – they would not be back before the Mortaeus flower had killed the princess. And because the wound was inflicted by a magical beast, there was a chance it would need magic to heal as well. He needed to do this otherwise Louis would die from either blood loss or from an infection. Louis couldn’t hate him any more than he already did anyway…

He gulped nervously and made his way over, shakily kneeling beside the still screaming prince.

   “Do not touch me!” Louis roared, doing everything in his power to twist his body away from Harry. “If you ever cared about me, do not soil me with your sorcery!”

A sob hitched in Harry’s throat as he fought back the tears welling up in his eyes. “Everything I’ve done has been because I care about you,” he whispered, voice breaking, as he placed his hands over Louis’ wounded leg. Unable to look Louis in the eyes, the pure hate and disgust breaking his heart into a million tiny pieces, Harry squeezed his eyes shut as he spoke the spell, “ _Ic pe purhhaele pinu licsar mid pam sundorcraeft paere ealdan ae.”_

The wound stopped bleeding and then slowly started closing from the inside out, leaving not even a faint scar. Louis scrambled away as soon as they let go of him, staring at his leg in shock. When he moved to stand up, Harry did so as well but Louis stopped him by holding up his hand.

   “Stay there!” he ordered and Harry dropped back onto the ground in defeat.

Niall and Liam looked at him sadly as Louis went towards the horses, but didn’t dare to move towards him. They had defied Louis too much already, Harry would not ask any more of them. He just hoped he would get a chance to thank them for everything they’ve done before he had to leave. They needed to know just how much he appreciated them, how much he loved them.

Louis was suddenly in front of him again, and Harry looked up, a small glimmer of hope blooming in his heart. That hope was quickly put out as Louis returned his gaze with a blank stare.

   “Hold your hands out.” Louis’ voice was distant and emotionless and it seemed as if he was almost sleepwalking. Harry did as he was told, hands shaking. Louis then threw something at Liam and Niall, the knights barely catching whatever it was. “Tie him up. I don’t want him doing any sorcery until we need the antidote.”

Both of the knights started to protest, but Harry shook his head. If it was what was going to get him back to save Félicité, it was what he had to do. He cried silently as Niall tied a rope around his wrist, Liam tying an old scarf around his mouth to prevent him from speaking any spells. They all knew he could easily break out of the restraints, that he didn’t need any spoken words or hand movements for his magic to work, but none of them wanted to tell Louis.

Harry was then put on Niall’s horse, having to sit in front of the brunette knight so he wouldn’t fall off as he couldn’t hold on anymore. As they headed back for the castle, Niall at first tried to whisper encouraging words, but Harry tuned everything out. His body felt like an empty shell, but he was feeling so many different things that he didn’t even know _what_ to feel.

He just wanted everything to stop hurting, and somehow, he managed to make himself to fall asleep. 

The world suddenly felt as if it turned upside down and Harry woke with a start as he was unceremoniously dropped on the ground. As his hands were still bound he had nothing to take the fall and he landed face first in the dirt. At least the lower part of his face was still covered too so nothing got in his mouth.         

No one came to help him but he managed to shuffle around onto his back and eventually pushed himself up in a sitting position.

Surprisingly it was already dark outside so he must have been out of it for longer than he had first thought. He couldn’t tell where they were but seeing as they had ridden all day, he would guess they were miles from the forest.

Liam and Niall were currently working on getting a fire going. Both were glancing over at him from time to time but said nothing, obviously having been ordered by Louis to ignore him completely. Louis was nowhere to be seen but Cobalt was grazing peacefully next to both Liam’s and Niall’s horses, so Harry was reassured he hadn’t run off with the flower.

He was probably off somewhere letting his anger loose on some poor tree.

For a second Harry was tempted to rid himself of his restraints so that he could get more comfortable, but he quickly suppressed the urge. The last thing he needed right now was for Louis to mistrust him more. He needed to get to Félicité before it was too late, and if he needed to be bound for that, he would have to deal with it.  

Deciding he might as well get as comfortable as possible while waiting for morning, he slowly crawled over and curled up underneath a nearby bush. It helped shield him a bit from the chilly breeze and he was close enough to the fire to feel some warmth seeping through his clothes. With one last glance at the mute knights, he sighed and closed his eyes again, hoping sleep would take over.

It had only been a few seconds though when Louis came back. He walked over, leaves crunching under his boots and Harry peeked one eye open to find the prince right in front of him. Louis turned to the knights, “Leave us.”

They paused, eyes going wide. “Louis…” Liam said hesitantly. “Please don’t do anything you’ll regret.”

   “That was an order, Sir Payne!” Louis snapped, voice cutting like a blade.

Liam sent Harry a panicked glance but Harry just silently shook his head. If Louis wanted to confront him now then Harry would rather get it over with. If it helped ease the tension for the rest of the trip back to Camelot, it would be worth it. And if he actually tried to kill him… Harry would have to do whatever he could to escape. He could not let the princess die.  

When Niall and Liam had both scurried away, Louis turned back to Harry. His eyes were icy cold, mouth twisted in a sneer. No matter how hard Harry looked, he couldn’t see any trace of the usual warmth and love on the prince’s face.

   “Am I correct to assume you can get out of your restraints by yourself?” Louis asked, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

Not wanting to lie anymore, Harry nodded mutely, avoiding eye contact. Every time he looked at the prince it was like his heart got broken all over again.

   “Well, what are you waiting for?” Louis’ voice was impatient as he stared down at the druid, and Harry glanced up in surprise. He wanted him to break free? It had to be a trick, there was no way Louis just asked him to do magic. He was probably just testing his loyalty, see if he actually dared to use his magic. Not wanting to risk it, Harry stayed completely still.

   “Oh for goodness sake,” Louis mumbled to himself before kneeling down beside the younger boy. To Harry’s surprise he actually removed the scarf from around his mouth. He left the ropes however and as he got back up to his feet, he gestured for Harry to remove them himself.

So he really was serious then. Instead of speaking a spell out loud like Louis probably thought he needed to, Harry simply blinked, eyes glowing gold, and the ropes loosened, making it possible for him to remove them. The rough material had left angry red marks around Harry’s wrists and he rubbed at them softly.

They were both silent for an uncomfortable couple of minutes. Harry was waiting for Louis to say something, anything, and Louis was staring off into the darkness lost in his own thoughts.

Just as it seemed like Louis wasn’t actually going to say anything, he took a deep breath and sat down beside Harry, keeping a generous distance between them. Harry glanced over at the prince mournfully and found him already looking back. But instead of the cold stare Harry had yet to grow used to, his eyes were almost… sad.

   “Why didn’t you ever tell me?” Louis then asked, voice suddenly soft. “I trusted you, and I thought… I thought you trusted me as well.”

Harry frowned, not having expected that at all. He breathed out shakily and swallowed around the growing lump in his throat. “I trust you with my life, Louis,” he spoke honestly, voice a little shaky. “But with the history if your family… I knew that you would be loyal to your father before anything else. I didn’t want to put you in a position where you had to choose.”

It seemed his answer had surprised Louis as his mouth fell open and he was at a loss for words for a couple of seconds, but then he frowned and looked as if he was about to protest to Harry’s accusation, but Harry quickly held up his hand to cut him off. “If you had found out about me when I first started working for you, you would not have hesitated to have me executed, Louis, don’t lie. And I guess I sort of understand, you have been raised with a hate for magic, it’s all you know. And…” he paused, tears welling up in his eyes at the thought. “After I got to know you, I never believed you would turn me over to your father. I knew you would be hurt that I lied, but I never thought…”

He trailed off as his voice got shaky and he subconsciously reached up to run his fingers over the still fresh scratch on his throat. Louis’ inhaled sharply as his eyes followed Harry’s movements. He reached out his hand as if to touch, but Harry flinched away, surprising the both of them. Their eyes widened, and Louis’ filled with regret.

   “Harry… you know I’d never… I couldn’t. I was just… I was hurt and confused. You know I’d never actually…” he trailed off, not even able to say the word.

   “I don’t know anything anymore…” Harry mumbled, curling in on himself. Seeing Louis regretting his actions should have made him feel better, happier. After all, it meant that Louis did care even just a little. But he just couldn’t get that look of pure hatred out of his head. He had never seen Louis look like that before and it scared him. Despite what Louis was telling him now, something in Harry was sure that if he hadn’t been stopped, Louis would have gone through with it.

They were both quiet for a while. Harry wasn’t sure what else to say, and it seemed Louis was deep in his own thoughts.

   “Why did you come to Camelot?” Louis suddenly asked, voice almost inaudible. “I mean, you knew magic was outlawed, right? Why risk it?” 

Harry breathed out, resting his head on his bended knees. “I was curious, I guess. Most people learn magic through years of practice but I was born with it, I’ve never… I’ve never been normal, if you will. I wanted to know what it was like living without magic. The druids knew of Paul and I decided I wanted to come here to learn about medicine. Paul agreed to take me in. I knew it would be hard for me to conceal such a big part of myself, using magic was… is like breathing for me. It hasn’t been easy, and both Niall and Liam did manage to catch me one day I was getting too restless.”

   “So they saw you using magic? That’s why they both know?” Louis asked and Harry nodded.

   “Liam at first wanted to turn me in, but Niall and I were already friends and he,” Harry smiled to himself, forever grateful for his friend. “He managed to convince Liam I wasn’t dangerous. He didn’t even question it, he just trusted me. I’ll never be able to thank them enough.”

Louis froze beside him, breath hitching in his throat at Harry’s words. And Harry knew it was a low blow. He could not compare Louis’ situation to that of the knights’, they did not have the same at stake as him. But Harry just wanted him to feel the same pain as he was feeling.       

   “I’m sorry,” Louis eventually whispered. “I’m sorry I ever made you feel like you had to hide from me. I can’t… I can’t imagine how you must have felt whenever I said all those horrible things. It’s no wonder you never trusted me with your secret.”

He took a deep breath and turned to Harry, eyes wide and dejected. “If I hadn’t found out… would you ever have told me? I mean, now we are – were…” he stopped and awkwardly cleared his throat. “We were something more.”

Harry nodded, twisting his amber ring self-consciously. “I was going to tell you once Félicité had recovered. Niall and Liam convinced me. It was never my intention to keep lying to you, not now that you had risked so much for me, but I didn’t want to overwhelm you when you were so worried about your sister.”

   “Thinking about it now…” Louis paused and swallowed, glancing up at Harry. “I honestly have no idea how I would have reacted. I just… I don’t know. I’d like to think I would be reasonable, but…” They both thought back to what had actually happened once he had found out. Although it hadn’t been the ideal situation, it did say something about him. “I’m just so confused right now. Everything I thought I knew about magic, everything my father told me… I’ve always looked up to him, wanted to be a great king like him, but then I find out he has lied to me about something so big… something that has taken so many lives. I just don’t know what to think anymore.”

The prince looked so crestfallen that Harry couldn’t help but reach out and take Louis’ hand. He jumped slightly as if he hadn’t expected the touch, but didn’t pull back so Harry kept holding on. “Louis, your father is a great and fair king. Don’t ever doubt that. One flaw doesn’t take away all the good things he’s done. Of course I wish things were different and some day I’m sure they will be, but please don’t stop believing in him. He is just misguided, he fears what he doesn’t understand.”       

   “You… of all people are defending the man who has killed so many of your kind,” Louis spoke in disbelief, looking at Harry in wonder. “Why?”

   “Druids are peaceful, Louis. We don’t believe in violence,” Harry explained, voice soft. He wished so bad for Louis to understand. “Of course there are bad people out there who use magic for evil, but they would be bad without magic too. Magic is neutral, it doesn’t decide good or bad. It is a great power and responsibility, but in the end it is you who decide what to use it for. We could do so much good if we were just free.“

   “Can – can you show me?” Louis asked.

For a second Harry hesitated but Louis squeezed his hand and gave him a timid smile. Slowly Harry pulled his hand back, Louis resisting for a second until he realized what he was doing and quickly let go with a slight blush spreading over his cheeks. Harry cupped his hands, already feeling the magic buzzing under his skin.

   “ _Blóstmá._ ”

A small glowing light showed and from that grew a beautiful white and pink magnolia the size of his palm. He heard Louis gasp beside him and he glanced over to find the prince staring at the flower completely enchanted, eyes wide and sparkling. For a second he looked so young and carefree, still curious to the world around him and oblivious to its dark sides.    

   “Magnolias are my favorite,” Harry mumbled softly, gently running his finger down one of the fragile petals. “It symbolizes love for nature, the force of life that surrounds us. It reminds me of magic.”

Louis reached out and carefully caressed the flower. He was biting his lip, looking deep in thought. His hand brushed Harry’s and he finally looked up, blue eyes meeting Harry’s green directly for the first time in what felt like weeks although it had merely been hours. “Harry – “ he started but was cut off as the two knights suddenly came crashing through the bushes. Harry startled and pulled back, leaving Louis still reaching out for the flower until he finally came to his senses and pulled his hand back, clearing his throat awkwardly.

   “Your Highness we- “ Liam stopped short as he realized he had interrupted something and his face heated up. “I apologize sire, I didn’t realize we were interrupting.”

   “What do you want?” Louis snapped, quickly getting up and dusting off his clothes. It was the second time they had been disturbed by the knights during what Harry would consider to be intimate moments, and Louis clearly wasn’t amused either.

Liam flinched back at Louis’ tone, still affected by the severe berating he had gotten from Louis earlier, so Niall stepped forward and coughed awkwardly. “We hadn’t heard from you in a while so we came back to check that you hadn’t…” he glanced over at Harry, and Louis huffed angrily. They had actually been worried they would come back and find Harry dead.  

   “I’m fine, Niall,” Harry said, sending the knight a small reassuring smile.   

But all the progress he had just made with Louis… there was a chance it was all lost. The walls he had finally gotten through had come right back up.

There were a thousand things he wanted to say, but his head was still blurry from being hit the day before and he was so, so tired. Although it seemed he had done nothing but sleep on this trip so far, he just couldn’t help but feel completely drained from energy. He sent one last longing look at Louis before he inched closer to the fire and curled up.

They made it back to the safety of Camelot’s stone walls late into the night on the fourth day. They were all drained, exhausted and could barely stay upright on their feet. Not just from the strenuous journey and obstacles they had to face, but also from all that had happened between them.

The journey back had been surprisingly peaceful compared to what they had been through when heading the other way. They had ridden all throughout the day to get back to Félicité before the deadline, and they all prayed she was still alive. There had been no words from Paul, as he would usually send a bird to bring his message if it was urgent, and Harry took that as a sign that they still had time.

Louis’ family looked at bad as the boys felt, and everyone except the king was sitting around Félicité’s bed in the infirmary. Their heads snapped up as they entered, and when Louis held up the flower for them to see, everyone cried in relief.

Immediately Harry and Paul got to work, finding and mixing the right ingredients. They worked slowly and carefully to make sure they got it just right on the first try. They couldn’t mess this up, Louis had only managed to grab one flower so they only had enough for one try.

At one point the king came storming into the room, having been told by the guards that Louis had returned.

   “Did you get it? The flower?” he asked urgently.

   “Of course I did, father,” Louis huffed tiredly. He squeezed Félicité’s hand as she let out a moan of pain. According to Paul, her condition hadn’t changed much since they left. Her fever had stayed high no matter what they had tried, and she had not gained consciousness once. Except for when she sometimes spoke slurred, incoherent words in her fever haze, there had been no signs of her waking up.

Harry carefully crushed the delicate flower petals in a mortar before giving it to Paul for him to mix with the addition ingredients. Everyone watched anxiously as he stirred the antidote, holding their breaths in hopes of it working.

Just as Paul added the last ingredient, it seemed to dawn on him that Harry now had to use magic for it to actually work, and he paused, looking at the royal family uncertainly.

   “What is it Paul, is it not working?” the queen asked, voice shaking and raw after having cried.

  “No my lady, it’s not that,” Paul quickly reassured him. He glanced at Harry who sent a pleading look to Louis. He needed to somehow get his family to leave so that Harry could finish the antidote. For it to work he had to use some very powerful magic and he could not do that without speaking the spell out loud. If he tried to whisper there would be a chance he pronounced something wrong and messed up the spell, who knows what could happen to Félicité if she drank a faulty antidote.

   “Then what is the problem Paul, what more you need? Speak up, we do not have the time for hesitating!” the king demanded.

   “I do need one more thing for the antidote to work sire, but…” Paul hesitated again. He didn’t want the king to suspect him of using sorcery, but he didn’t want to reveal Harry’s secret either.

Louis suddenly stood up and cleared his throat, gaining the attention of everyone in the room. He hesitated only for a second, making Harry’s heart speed up anxiously. Was he really going to tell his father? After everything they had talked about?

   “Harry told me that the potion is going to make Félicité feel really sick. The poison needs to come out of her body in some way, and I am sure she does not wish for any of us to witness her in such a state,” he lied smoothly, sending a small reassuring glance at Harry as if knowing what the druid had been thinking.

The king was about to protest, but the queen took a deep breath and stood up, nodding to herself. She silently shooed a protesting Charlotte out along with the oldest twins before coming back to get her husband. She gently grabbed a hold of his hand and tugged, “Come on, dear. You know how vain Félicité can be, she would never look us in the eye again if she knew we had seen her get sick on herself. She’s a young woman now, we have to respect her privacy.” 

Never able to argue with his wife, the king sighed in defeat and turned to follow her out. “Come get me as soon as she is better!” he ordered and both Paul and Harry quickly nodded, relieved they seemed to believe Louis’ lie so easily.

He didn’t seem to notice the fact that Louis had lingered behind, having no intentions of leaving the room. Paul however did notice and sent Harry a slightly panicked look, not knowing yet that Louis already knew. Harry just nodded at him, and Paul’s eyes widened as he understood.  

Right before the door closed the queen turned around, silently mouthing a ‘thank you’ at Harry. He nearly choked on air in surprise, but she just smiled warmly and nodded once. She knew. There was no way she should have known, but somehow she did.

When they were gone, Harry turned to Louis, who stared back wide eyed. “Well…” he smiled, although it was more of a grimace. “I told you she knows everything that’s going on?” He sounded as unsure as Harry felt, but if it indeed meant that she knew about his magic, then surely she would have told the king by now if that was her intentions. The fact that she hadn’t had to mean he could trust her with his secret.

Paul cleared his throat and handed Harry the unfinished potion. As his fingers closed around the vial, his hands suddenly started to shake. What if he messed up? What if he accidentally killed the princess? This was a spell he had never used before, and one he couldn’t practice. It was way too much pressure. He was not skilled enough for this.

   “Harry, my boy, we need to give it to her now,” Paul said softly, putting a hand on Harry’s shoulder. “You are by far the most skilful sorcerer I have ever heard of, don’t doubt yourself. Trust your instincts, _Leigh._ ”

Harry’s eyes widened at the sound of the name. He hadn’t heard that name in a long time, the name the druids had given him. It meant healer, as they had known from the very first look at him that it would be the path he wanted to take in life. His own family had continued calling him Harry, but to everyone else, it had been Leigh. It was odd hearing it again after so long, after having been used to being _just Harry_.

He could do this. It was in his blood.

 _“Seópan ærest wearð feasceaft funden. Denum æfter dom._ _Dreamleas gebad he gewann langsum.”_ His eyes glowed and small bubbles began forming in the potion until it was boiling.

   “D-did it work?” Louis asked quietly as if afraid his voice would mess up the potion.

   “Only one way to find out,” Harry smiled nervously and handed the vial to the prince, knowing he would like to be the one to give it to his sister.

Carefully, Louis lifted Félicité’s head a little and poured the potion into her slightly open mouth. For a few terrifyingly long seconds nothing happened, but then her eyes started fluttering and finally they blinked open slowly.

   “L-Louis?” she slurred, rubbing at her eyes. “What happened?”

   “Oh thank god.” Louis surged forward and pulled his sister into his arms. His shoulders were shaking and Harry suspected he was crying.     

While Louis was occupied with his sister, Harry stepped over to Paul and hugged him tightly. “I have to leave,” he whispered, suddenly feeling choked up at the thought of not seeing Paul again for a long time. “I promised Louis I would, in exchange for him keeping my secret.”

Paul squeezed him back, nearly breaking his back. “I’ll miss you, lad. You’ve done good. I know I’ll be hearing great stories about you some day.”

As they pulled back, Harry quickly wiped away a tear that had escaped down his cheek. He sent Paul one last beaming smile before turning around. With one last longing look at the prince, who was still completely focused on his sister, he quietly slipped out of the room. Tears were now silently streaming down his face, but he adamantly headed towards his chambers.

Although he was actually not quite sure just where he stood with Louis now they had talked, he knew he couldn’t stay. He was not going to force Louis to lie to his father every day, but mostly he just couldn’t stay in a place where he no longer felt truly welcome.

He packed the few important belongings he could carry in his bag, took one last look at what had been his home for two years and then hurried out before he could change his mind. With every step away from the castle, his heart broke a little more.

As he reached the stables, he was so relieved to see Gypsy standing there, grazing quietly. She had found her way back like he knew she would and had been waiting patiently for him to return.

   “Hi girl,” he greeted, and Gypsy whinnied happily when noticing him.

   “I’m afraid we have to leave,” he mumbled, gently scratching her between the eyes. “I know you’ll miss your friends, but I promise you’ll make new ones.”

Just as he was about to get on his horse, he heard his name being called and he turned around to find Liam and Niall running towards him. They were panting when they finally reached him and had to take a few seconds to catch their breath before they were able to say anything.

   “What are you doing?” Liam finally managed to ask, gesturing around wildly. “Why are you leaving?”

   “I’m banished, Liam,” Harry answered, looking at his shoes because he couldn’t handle looking them in the eyes. He knew they would convince him to stay if he did.

   “You know he didn’t mean that, Harry!” Niall protested, grabbing onto Harry’s arm. “I’m sure he doesn’t want you to leave. If you just talk to him I know you can figure it out. Please don’t leave.”

Harry sighed and shuffled his feet uncomfortably. His resolve was crumbling, he had to leave now or else he wouldn’t be able to. A little voice in his head kept telling him that they were right, of course Louis didn’t actually want him to leave, he just had to talk to him.

   “I can’t stay.” Harry’s voice was quiet and begging as he finally glanced up at them, tears shining in his bright, green eyes. “The laws are never going to change, and I’m tired of hiding. I don’t belong here, and I never will.”

He was tired of having to hide something he could not help. He was tired of having to live in fear of getting discovered, knowing what the punishment was. But most of all, he just missed his home. Seeing Félicité sick made him worried for his own sister. They rarely got to speak and it had been weeks since her last message.

   “You don’t get to decide that for yourself!” A new voice broke the silence and Harry’s head snapped up, stomach clenching uncomfortably as he came face to face with a panting, furious-looking Louis. “I can’t believe you were going to leave without telling me!”

   “You were the one who banished me, Louis!” Harry snapped back. Louis’ mood swings were messing with his head and he was just so, so tired.

   “Oh for goodness sake, _Harry,_ ” Louis sighed exasperatedly. “You know not to listen to what I say when I’m like that!”

   “This wasn’t like when you’re in one of your moods, and you know it!” Harry suddenly felt angry. How dare Louis mess with him like this? After everything they’ve been through, did he really not think higher of Harry’s feelings?

   “Oh please, how was it any different? You know I act on impulse, I wasn’t thinking when I said that,” Louis huffed, crossing his arms defensively. He looked like a petulant child and Harry had never wanted to punch him more.

   “You tried to _kill_ me!”

Harry’s voice was loud in the otherwise silent night, words ringing in his own ears. He was panting, hands clenched at his sides as he stared down the stunned prince in front of him. It felt so good to finally say what had been gnawing at the back of his mind since they fought the cockatrice. No matter what Louis said to defend himself, he could not deny his actions. And Harry knew Louis was only snapping at him because he was trying to hide his own hurt, but Harry just couldn’t do it anymore.

   “Harry…” Louis started, voice now soft, and he slowly reached out towards the younger boy as if he was afraid he was going to run away. “I… Nothing I say can excuse my actions, and I will forever do everything in my power to earn back your trust. You deserve so much better than me, but I’m selfish. Please don’t leave, I’ll do anything. Once I’m king things will be different, I promise. You’ll never have to hide again.”

 Because Harry was never able to resist the prince, he felt all the anger drain from him and he let the older boy pull him closer.

   “Don’t leave me,” Louis whispered, leaning his forehead against Harry’s. “I’m begging you.”

   “I can’t stay here, Louis.” A fresh wave of tears welled up in Harry’s eyes. Everything in him was begging for him to give in and let the prince lead him back to the castle, but he knew he needed to go home. He needed space to think and just breathe, and he couldn’t do that with the constant pressure of Louis and the two knights. “I love Camelot, but I feel suffocated here.”

Louis breathed in shakily, squeezing Harry’s hands tightly. “Will you ever come back?” his voice was quiet, pleading.

   “I don’t know,” was Harry’s honest answer. He had no idea what he would discover about himself once he had returned back to his old life. Would his feelings change? How would he feel looking back on the past two years? He would not make a promise he couldn’t keep.  

What sounded like a sob shook the shorter boy in front of him, and Harry squeezed his eyes shut, feeling his own heart break again. Leaving Louis behind was not easy, but he knew they couldn’t be together, not as things were in Camelot now. It had all been wish-thinking. Perhaps sometime in the future things could work out, but for now, there was no happy end.

   “I’m sorry,” Louis choked out. “I’m so, so sorry.”

   “Me too.” Harry had to bite his cheek to stifle a sob of his own.

With another squeeze of Louis’ hands, Harry quickly leaned in and gently kissed him on the corner of his mouth as a goodbye. His eyes glowed under his eyelids as he softly muttered a spell, and a magnolia blossomed in their joined hands. As Harry pulled back he left the flower with Louis, muttering one last spell to make sure it would never wilt.

   “Goodbye, Harry,” Louis whispered, eyes wide and sorrowful as he watched Harry get on his horse.

   “Goodbye, Louis,” Harry whispered back.

_I love you._

He let his eyes move back over to the two knights who had kept their distance to give them some privacy, and smiled wistfully, finally letting the tears brimming in his eyes roll down his cheeks. Niall was crying too and even Liam’s eyes were shining with tears.

He was going to miss them so much.

After one last longing look at the people he had come to consider family, Harry headed back into the woods and back towards his home. But the further he got, the more it felt like he was leaving his home behind.

_And could I leave you_

_running merrily through the snow?_

_Or on a wintry evening_

_when you catch the fire's glow?_

   “Harry, dear, are you with us?” His mum’s gentle voice shook Harry from his thoughts and he blinked as the world around him came back into focus.

He was sitting by a fire, his mum and sister both sitting beside him. It was dark outside, the stars just beginning to peek out. There were similar fires all around them, the other druids chatting or singing happily amongst their little groups. As Harry glanced at the fire, he realized he had been playing with the flames and had subconsciously formed a tiny dragon out of the embers. The Camelot crest.  

   “Sorry mum, got lost in my thoughts I guess,” he mumbled, smiling apologetically at her.

   “You thinking ‘bout that stupid prince again?” Gemma grumbled, pushing at the burning wood with a stick. “He doesn’t deserve you, Harry, why can’t you see that?”

   “ _Gemma!_ ” their mum gasped, slightly pinching the girl in reprimand, but Harry just sighed. His sister was never known to keep her opinions to herself, and she had not made an exception this time, not wasting any opportunities to tell Harry just what she thought about the Crown Prince of Camelot.   

   “He’s not a bad person, Gem,” Harry said, having spoken the same words too many times now, knowing she would never believe him. He pulled the hood of his old, green cloak over his head to hide from her piercing gaze. “It just wasn’t meant to be. Can we please not talk about it?”

She didn’t say anything else, but Harry suspected she was glaring into the fire. He felt his mum’s hand gently rubbing his arm. She too weren’t very fond of Louis after Harry had told them everything that had happened, but she could see that Harry was still heartbroken and knew when to just be quiet and supportive.

It had been almost six months since Harry left Camelot, and while it had gotten easier to distract himself, there was still what felt like a gaping hole in his heart.

He had arrived early in the morning, surprising his family as they’d had no idea he was coming. They of course had been overjoyed to see them, as had the whole village really, but Harry had been too tired and mentally drained to really participate in the joy. It had taken him two whole days of wallowing in heartache and self-pity, his mother and sister looking on with worry in their eyes, until he had finally managed to feel even a little alive again.

After a great deal of coaxing, his mum had managed to make him tell them what had happened to make him come back early and why he was so gloomy. Needless to say, they had not been very impressed with Louis, but had, mostly, respected Harry’s wishes to not talk about it.

To make himself forget, Harry had then thrown himself into work. From the sun first peeked up over the horizon until the first stars showed Harry could be found working. Everything from working in the fields where he helped take care of their crops, to teaching the other druids everything he had learned from Paul. He had even spent a whole day mucking out the stables and grooming the horses because there had been no other work for him to do.

It was at night everything caught up to him, making him lie sleepless for hours, just wondering about what he could have done different. Should he have told Louis earlier? Could he have beaten the cockatrice without revealing himself? Should he have stayed? After weeks of poor sleep, he had gone to one of the elder druids for a sleeping draught so he wouldn’t have to face his own thoughts anymore.

Both his mother and sister were very worried about him, so after one afternoon where he had nearly collapsed in the fields from exhaustion, he had promised them to take it a bit easier on himself.

It had taken him a while to get used to suddenly being able to use magic freely again, and he would  still sometimes catch himself looking around to see if there is anyone looking before doing a spell.  

Once or twice a week he would get updates from Niall and Liam about the life back in Camelot, and in return Harry let them know how he was doing. Birds were very reliable messengers, and Harry longed for their letters. Louis had no idea they were still communicating, as Harry had threatened to hex the knights of they told him. It would hurt too much to only hear from Louis in writing and not being able to see him. So instead, the knights made sure to try and nonchalantly mention Louis in their letters to let Harry know how he was doing.

According to them, Louis was putting on a brave face whenever he was in public, but as soon as he was alone he was sulking and moody. It hurt Harry’s heart to know he was causing him pain, but he just wasn’t ready to face the prince. He wasn’t sure he would ever be. He was so scared that things had changed too much – what if Louis resented him now for leaving him?

Basically, Harry was a coward.

He sighed and looked up at the stars. Was Louis looking at them too, thinking about Harry? He smiled longingly, his heart beating just a little bit faster like it always would when thinking of Louis. No matter what had happened between them, he could not deny his feelings. Although he felt weak for still loving the prince even after he had acted to cruelly to Harry, he also knew the good in him outweighed the bad by far. Harry didn’t stand a chance.

Louis’ smile stood clear in his mind and Harry longed to see it again one day.

He cupped his hands and, thinking of beautiful blue eyes, muttered out a spell. “ _Gewyrcan lif._ ” There was a small flutter and as Harry opened his hands again, an azure blue butterfly spread its wings and flew up towards the stars.

It was a kind of ritual of Harry’s, something he’d do every time he found himself thinking of Louis. It was a way for him to remember the feelings with happiness and celebrate them, and then let them go to give his mind and heart some rest.

   “Feeling better, love?” his mum asked softly, knowing what the butterfly meant to Harry, and Harry nodded, giving her a small smile.

His heart would never fully heal as long as he was separated from Louis, but he was fine. He had his family, he had his friends, and for now, that was enough. 

   “Now, repeat after me; _forbearnan._ ” There was a spark in the small bonfire in front of Harry and then it lit up. He looked up as the druid kids repeated the spell after him and hummed happily when at least half of the kids managed to light their fires as well. The rest of the kids succeeded after a couple of more tries.

   “Well done everyone. Remember to use fire spells with great caution, a small flame can grow quickly if you don’t know how to control it. Elemental spells are fickle and difficult to tame, so take your time to practice in a controlled environment until you feel comfortable with the spell, okay?” He clapped his hands together and stood up, “Now I think that was it for today. The weather is amazing so go have some fun, I’ll clean up just this once.”

The kids all cheered and most of them gave Harry a quick hug before leaving their little circle. Their happiness was infectious and Harry couldn’t help the dimpled smile that grew on his face.

   “Thank you Master Leigh,” a little girl said cheerfully, hugging Harry’s middle tightly. “You’re my favorite teacher!”

   “You’re welcome, Sefa,” Harry smiled, ruffling her hair. “You’re doing great with your spells, you pronunciation is really good.”    

Sefa just beamed up at him and then ran over to join her friends, Harry watching them with a wide smile on his face.

Teaching was something his mother had suggested after Harry had nearly worked his body into exhaustion in the fields, and Harry had no idea how he hadn’t come up with that idea himself. He loved kids and he found that he loved teaching magic as well. Seeing their little faces light up when finally getting a spell right was like sunlight breaking through on a rainy day. He remembers that feeling from when he was younger, and being able to give that to someone else was just amazing.

With a quick spell and a wave of his hand the fires were all put out and he gathered the few notes he used for teaching before heading back towards his house. He smiled and waved at everyone he came by, loving how the amazing weather had everyone in a great mood. Although it was getting closer to winter, the sun had showed for the first time in weeks, giving off a warmth Harry had already started to miss.

As he reached his house he was greeted by a white dove sitting on his windowsill. It had a small roll of parchment attached to its leg, and Harry quickly put down the items in his arms to untie it. He remembered of course to give the dove some seeds as a reward.

He rolled out the parchment and began reading, eager to hear how everyone was doing back in Camelot. The handwriting told him it was Liam who had sent the letter this time.

As he got further into the letter though, he felt his stomach knot up and turn to ice. Tears welled up in his eyes making it hard for him to continue reading, but he stubbornly wiped them away with his sleeve, hoping it wouldn’t end like he thought it would.

It did though, and he dropped the letter in defeat, covering his mouth with his hand to stifle a sob.

Everything was good back in Camelot, there hadn’t been any more attacks from the evil sorceress so the king wasn’t as tense, and he stopped taking out his stress on Louis and the knights. His newfound good mood had resulted in him opening up to a new alliance with a kingdom close by, and the king and queen had sent their daughter to Camelot to negotiate the terms. One of the terms discussed, had been an alliance through marriage.

The princess had apparently admired Louis from afar for a while, hearing stories of the great Prince of Camelot, and had agreed to marriage to join their kingdoms. And because Louis wanted the best for Camelot as well, he, too, had agreed.

Louis was getting married.

Although Harry had already known there had been little to no chance of him and Louis working out in the end, it was still a knife to the heart. The small glimmer of hope he’d had died out. He could never go back to Camelot now. He could not bear seeing Louis with someone else by his side, it would break him completely.

He managed to write back a small note, just to let Liam know he had received his letter, and sent the dove on its way. He then grabbed his green cloak, pulling the hood down over his face so no one would see he was crying, and nearly ran for the stables. He needed to get away.

Gypsy looked up startled as Harry barged in, but quickly caught on to his mood and let him jump on her back. Without putting any equipment on her, Harry gently clapped her side and they took off into the surrounding woods. He couldn’t deal with facing anyone right now, and there was only one place he knew would give him the peace to calm down.

It wasn’t a long ride with the speed they were going at, the brown colours of the forest blending together in a big blur because of the tears in Harry’s eyes. Gypsy knew where they were going though, and slowed down when they got close to alert Harry.

Wiping his eyes in his sleeve, Harry looked up and found himself in front of a glittering lake. The water was crystal clear as it came from the mountains towering up just behind it, and the water was the very same that ran through a small creek in the village. A roaring waterfall as tall as the trees covered the usual sounds of chirping birds, the constant and static noise already helping Harry’s scrambled thoughts.

He left Gypsy by the water and crawled up on the rocks and boulders that surrounded the lake. He was not sure if anyone else knew about it – he had never seen another person there – but just behind the waterfall was a decent sized cave. Harry found it when he was younger and had just started figuring out his powers. One day it had all become too much and he had run away. Somehow he had found himself by the lake and, just wanting to hide from the world, had crawled behind the waterfall.

After that, Harry had gone there every time he needed to be alone. It had been where he had decided he wanted to go to Camelot despite the laws against magic. It had also been where he had decided that being with Louis was worth all the hardships that came with it, and that he was soon going to return to Camelot. To his true home.      

Finally alone, he curled up in his cloak and let his broken heart take over, tears now streaming freely down his face.

The first snow had fallen although it had not yet stuck to the ground. It had come early that year and the whole village scrambled to collect enough supplies for the winter, and the stress of it all helped Harry get his mind off of things back in Camelot for at least a little while.

He was currently helping with the beet harvesting, a hard and tedious work that had his back screaming at the end of the day. It needed to be done before the ground froze though, so there was no time to rest. Not even magic could conjure food enough for a village from nothing.

When the back pain became too much, Harry allowed himself to straighten up and stretch for a second, looking around to see how far they’ve come. A little over half way… still long way to go.

With a sigh, he was about to bend down again when something caught his eye and his eyes widened. It was one of his blue butterflies, there was no mistaking it. No other butterfly could survive this cold weather. This one shouldn’t even have survived. He held his breath as he watched it fly closer and he lifted his hand, breath hitching slightly as it landed on his palm. What could it mean?   

Suddenly he heard shouting coming from the village and as he looked up, he noticed people were gathering in the square. The butterfly startled and flew away but he paid it no mind. He was about to head for the square himself when he spotted Sefa sprinting towards him and he walked towards her to meet her halfway.

   “Why the rush?” he asked when she stopped in front of him, panting. “What is happening?”

   “The prince is here!” she exclaimed, eyes wide and scared. “Are they going to take us?”

Harry felt cold all over at her words and without answering, he took off towards the houses. It couldn’t be… why would he be here? Why now? Dread settled in his stomach, something had to be wrong. Louis wouldn’t be here otherwise, he wouldn’t betray his father’s trust like that.

   “Your Highness, I must say I am surprised to see you here,” one of the elders spoke as Harry reached the gathering of people. “But I am sure you will not be surprised when I tell you, you are not welcome. Leave us, we have done nothing to you or your family.”

As the next person spoke up, Harry froze where he was trying to make his way through everyone. It really was him. How was he here?

   “I fully understand your hostility towards me, but I promise you I come in peace. Something is happening in Camelot that I do not understand and I need help,” Louis’ voice rang, loud and clear, through the village square and it felt like a punch to Harry’s gut. He was really here.

   “Though I do not wish any harm to come to your people, I will not meddle in things that do not concern me. You and your family have never brought us anything but pain, so tell me, why should we help you now?” Another elder had stepped forward, staring at the prince with ice cold eyes.

To avoid being spotted, Harry put up his hood and stayed in the background, though he now had a perfect view of the prince. His heart still skipped a beat after all this time as his eyes landed on Louis – he was still impossibly beautiful. He looked exhausted though, there were deep purple bags underneath his eyes and he was panting like he had run to the village from Camelot. Harry squeezed his eyes shut. Was he ill?

   “I…” Louis started but seemed at a loss for words. He looked around at the people surrounding him, eyes scanning over the crowd frantically, and Harry knew he was looking for him. When he didn’t see Harry anywhere, he inhaled shakily and suddenly sunk to his knees. “I am begging you. I will do anything.”  

   “I am sorry, but there is nothing I can do. I refuse to set foot in a place I would be hunted down under other circumstances,” the first elder said coolly.

Harry’s heart broke as Louis unsteadily got to his feet, tears in his eyes. “I understand. But please, before I leave can I ask one question?”

The elders hesitated, but then nodded. They were not heartless, they were just trying to protect their families. They really did not wish any harm to the people of Camelot, but they could not take the risk of returning only to be executed.

   “Have you heard of Harry? I – I thought he would be here, but my sources must have been wrong. He… he is a friend of mine, and… I really need his help.” Louis sounded so lost that Harry couldn’t take it anymore. He couldn’t let Louis leave alone, something was really wrong and he couldn’t just stand by without doing anything. What if someone was seriously hurt or ill? This was what Harry’s powers were for, he couldn’t not do it.

   “Harry?” one of the elders spoke in surprise and they exchanged looks. They had known Harry had been in Camelot to study medicine, but had no idea he had actually ended up as the prince’s manservant and close friend. It was something Harry hadn’t felt the need to share as he knew what they felt about the royal family. And they certainly didn’t know that Louis knew of his magic. They would not be impressed.

   “I’m here.” Everyone turned to stare at him as he stepped out in front of Louis and the elders. Louis’ eyes widened and then his face morphed into that of pure relief.

One of the elders, a steely woman named Aneira who had taught Harry almost everything he knew about elemental spells, stepped out in front of Harry before he could move closer to Louis.

   “Leigh!” she said disapprovingly. “How could you be so careless? You have led him right to us! What if he brings the whole army here? We are not safe anymore.”

People in the crowd got restless at her words, everyone talking loudly over each other and kids crying. Harry quickly turned to them all and raised his voice. “No wait, I promise you he will keep your secret! We’re safe, he won’t hurt us! We won’t have to move, I swear.” He turned back to the elder, looking at her pleadingly. “I swear,” he repeated. “His father has done terrible things, but Louis is not like that. He kept my secret from his family even when he didn’t fully trust me himself.”

   “This is not our business, Leigh,” she continued sternly, though her eyes were softer. She had always had a soft spot for him.

   “It is mine though!” Harry defended himself. “I have friends in Camelot, people I care about – people who care about me! Should I just stand by and let them be hurt? Please Master Aneira, at least let me go with him.”

She sighed and grabbed Harry’s hands in her own, looking into his eyes for any hints of a lie. When she found none, she nodded to herself and stepped back. “We will need to discuss this. I trust you will not leave till we have come to an agreement.”

Harry breathed out in relief and bowed his head in acceptance. It was not a no, and he knew she would speak his case.

A third elder stepped forward and ordered everyone to return back to their work, as they could not afford to lose any more time. Rumors spread fast in the village anyway, so by nightfall everyone would know what the elders had decided.

The elders then retreated to their study hall to discuss their decision, leaving Harry and Louis suddenly alone in the square.

It had been a month since Liam’s letter where he let Harry know about Louis’ betrothal, but Harry still found it incredibly difficult to make himself look the prince in the eye. To spare himself the broken heart, he had written back to Liam and Niall that he did not wish to hear about Louis in their letters anymore, so Harry had no idea how he was doing. Was he already married?

   “Harry…” Louis breathed out, suddenly so close Harry could feel his breath on his cheek. “I… you’re really here. For a second I thought… I’m happy to see you. How – how are you?”

Even though Harry’s mind screamed at him to step back, to put some distance between them again his body betrayed him and he couldn’t help but lean in closer. He had been away from him for so long, he needed to feel him close.  

   “I’m okay,” he mumbled, only lying a little. The last month had been the most painful, knowing that maybe if he had stayed things would be different.

   “Your hair is longer,” Louis then said softly, letting his eyes roam over Harry’s features. He reached out as if to touch but paused with a hurt look when seeing the hesitation on Harry’s face. Harry tried to smile awkwardly but it turned into more of a grimace and Louis just smiled back wistfully, letting his hand fall back down to his side limply. “It looks good on you.”

It felt like someone was sitting on Harry’s chest. Why was Louis doing this? He most likely didn’t know that Harry was aware of what was happening back at Camelot, but saying things like this to Harry, knowing fully well himself that nothing could ever come of it now… that was just cruel. Was he going to try and lie his way out of it when Harry eventually returned to Camelot with him – because he was going to no matter what the elders told him – and not tell him who the princess was?

   “Why are you here, Louis?” Harry asked, taking a step back to try and regain his senses. He was not doing this just for Louis, he was doing this for Niall, and Liam and Paul and all of his friends too. For all the people of Camelot. He could not get distracted by his broken heart. “How did you even find me?”

Louis breathed out, looking dejected at Harry’s obvious rejection. “Niall told me where I might find you,” he admitted, shrugging sheepishly. “I had to try, I had no one else to turn to.”

   “There is some kind of sickness spreading through the kingdom,” he continued, looking both terrified and desperate. “It started in the outskirts. People came in complaining about suddenly feeling fatigued and dizzy, then came a fever and eventually they fell asleep. They fall asleep where they are standing, no matter what they are doing and once they are asleep, they are impossible to wake again. Paul has tried everything but nothing seems to work. It has to be magic, there is no other explanation. It spread through the villages in only a couple of days and it will soon reach the castle. If everyone is asleep we are defenseless, open to any enemy who want to take over Camelot. We need to act fast, we don’t have much time. When I left it had spread to the marketplace, I’m not sure we can make it back in time.”

A heavy ball of dread settled in Harry’s stomach. I did indeed sound like the work of magic, and very powerful magic at that. It was nothing had ever heard about before, and he was not sure he could actually do anything about it alone.

   “Does your father know you went to the druids for help?” Harry asked, wanting to make sure that Louis wasn’t followed by anyone who would tell the king their location. Although his village was in another kingdom, he was not sure that would stop the king.        

   “Not specifically, but he told me to do anything necessary to stop the disease from taking over the kingdom. I think he knows magic is our only option, but will not admit it out loud,” Louis explained. “I’m sure that if he sees the good magic can do, he will rethink his laws. You… you could maybe come back?”

Harry blinked, mind going blank for a second. Why would Harry come back to Camelot? It would only hurt him to watch Louis together with the princess. He started shaking his head, but didn’t get to say anything as the elders returned from their council.

It was Aneira who stepped forward, looking between Harry and Louis. “We have decided that you may go with him, Leigh. We do not wish for the people of Camelot to suffer because of the mistakes of one man. But you will not be going alone, Cadoc will be coming with you to aid and protect you. We want you back safe, Leigh.”

A dark-haired young man with steely, grey eyes stepped up from behind the elders, and Harry remembered seeing him around the village. They started their training around the same time. He was a bit taller than Harry and was quite buff. Harry knew that he was one of the more… offensive druids in their village. He wasn’t violent, but he wasn’t as focused on healing spells as most other druids. Although Harry wasn’t sure he would get along with Cadoc at all, he could respect that they had chosen the right person. He would balance out Harry’s skills perfectly.

Louis was frowning too, arms crossed defiantly but he didn’t argue. He knew it was the only way to get Harry back to Camelot. He bowed his head, “I humbly thank you, I will be forever grateful for your kindness. If ever you need an ally, my knights and I will be at your service.”

   “We’ll see,” Aneira said, clearly still not impressed with the prince. “Now, please tell us what has made you seek us out.”

Once again, Louis explained what was happening in Camelot and Harry could see the surprise on the elders’ faces. It worried him that _they_ looked worried. What if he couldn’t do anything about it at all?

   “From what you have told us, you are dealing with a very powerful and very dark magic,” an elder, Master Aldan, one of the oldest and wisest of the village, spoke up. “It is one thing to cast a spell that puts everyone to sleep. The power to maintain it is a very different matter, it will need more than just words to break this enchantment. You must eradicate the source, whatever that is. Such spells need a vessel, a constant presence to give them strength. It if indeed has spread to the entire kingdom, the one casting this spell is truly powerful.”

   “We wish you luck, Your Highness,” Aldan said with a small bow of his head, then turned to Harry and held out his hand for Harry to take, Harry grabbing it gently. “And you, young warlock, be careful. We expect you back alive and well. You may have friends in Camelot, but remember - your family is here.”

   “I will,” Harry agreed, bowing his head. “Thank you, Master Aldan.” He turned to the other elders and repeated the movement. “Thank you, all of you.”

They nodded at him and retreated once again. When Harry turned back around, he found Louis and Cadoc glaring at each other, arms crossed defensively in front of them. It was not going to be easy to get them to work together. With Louis’ stubbornness and Cadoc’s mistrust, it would probably be best to just keep them separate as much as possible.

   “I’ll go pack. I’m sure Paul has what we need, but to be safe there are some things I’d like to bring. I need to tell my family as well,” Harry said, looking at the two of them. Cadoc mumbled an agreement and went off to most likely pack himself.

When Harry started heading back to his house, he noticed Louis followed him and he paused, turning to look at the prince sheepishly. “It’s probably for the best if you stay here…” he mumbled, scratching his cheek awkwardly at the hurt expression on Louis’ face. “My family isn’t exactly… fond of you. I can’t guarantee my sister won’t harm you.”

   “But – “ Louis protested, then cut himself off as he saw Harry’s pleading expression. He sighed and pouted sulkily. “Very well then.”

Harry gave him a small smile then quickly walked back to his house. As soon as he entered, his mother and sister were over him. “Is it true?” his mother asked urgently. “The prince is here? What did he want?”

   “A sleeping sickness has taken over Camelot,” Harry explained. “It was created by magic so there was nothing they could do. Louis came here for help.”

   “You’re not going, are you?” Gemma asked, her disdain for the prince evident in her voice. “You owe him nothing Harry, not after how he treated you like dirt!”

   “I’m not doing this for him, Gem.” Harry grabbed her hands, hoping to make her understand. “But I have friends in Camelot, and innocent people are suffering. I cannot stand by and let it happen when I can help. This is what my magic is meant for.” His voice was pleading and he saw her features soften.

   “But you will come back home to us again,” she ordered, voice wavering only a little. “Please.”

   “I will,” Harry mumbled, pulling her in for a hug. She hugged him tightly before letting go, patting his cheek gently.

   “Look at you, all grown up and saving kingdoms.” Her voice was fond, eyes shining. “I’m proud of you little brother.”

   “Thank you, Gem,” Harry croaked out, voice thick with emotion. It was rare the two of them were this sentimental, usually sticking to bickering.

With another pat to the cheek, Gemma left the house, probably because she didn’t want Harry to see her cry. As the door closed behind her, Harry was immediately pulled into another bone-crushing hug by his mother. She had tears in her eyes, breathing shakily as she hugged him close.

   “Please don’t cry, mum,” Harry said softly, rubbing her back soothingly. “I’ll be fine. The elders have sent Cadoc with me, so I won’t be going alone. He is better at offensive spells than I am, he’ll keep me safe if it comes to a fight.”

   “I know you can take care of yourself, but I will always worry about my boy,” his mum sniffled, pulling back to look at him. “But your sister is right, I am so, so proud of what you have achieved. They would not have let you leave if they didn’t think you could handle it, so I am going to trust their judgment. But please do look after yourself.”

   “Of course mum,” Harry agreed, hugging her once more. Although it was hard for him to let go, he had to so that he could pack. He quickly stuffed some clean clothes as well as some different herbs and other things he thought could be useful.

He said goodbye to his mother and headed towards the stables to get Gypsy. She whinnied excitedly when he opened the stable doors but stood obediently as he saddled her up. Probably feeling Harry’s anxiousness, she rubbed her muzzle against his cheek, startling a laugh out of him. She really was his best friend.

When they arrived back at the village square, Louis and Cobalt were still waiting at them. When seeing her friend, Gypsy pulled the reins from Harry’s hands and galloped over, whinnying loudly in happiness. Cobalt met her halfway, equally as excited to see her. They circled each other for a few seconds, nuzzling their heads together. Harry couldn’t help but smile at the scene. He always had hoped that he’d maybe someday get to help raise a foal of theirs.

   “You ready?” Louis asked as Harry reached him, also smiling at their horses.

   “Yeah, we just need to wait for – “ Just as Harry was about to mention Cadoc, he walked up to them with a beautiful, brown horse in tow.

He nodded at Harry but glared at Louis, who glared right back. Harry sighed and shook his head. He did not want to deal with these two if they were going to be like this all the time.

They all saddled up and rode into the forest, course set for Camelot.           

_If ever I would leave you,_

_How could it be in spring-time?_

_Knowing how in spring I'm bewitched by you so?_

Everything was eerily quiet. No birds singing, no rustling leaves, the usual sounds of the bustling lower village gone. The streets were completely dead, no movements at all. Harry felt the hairs on his body stand up as they rode in between the houses, the sound of horse hooves on cobblestone suddenly too loud. None of them spoke, as if afraid it would disturb whatever was cursing the town.

They slowly started making their way towards the castle. The longer they were there, the more Harry felt like someone was staring at him. He felt on edge, something buzzing just beneath his skin. It was definitely the presence of very powerful magic.   

As they rounded a corner, they finally spotted someone and Harry let out a sigh of relief, hoping he could get some information from them about the sickness. When they got closer though, he suddenly felt cold.

It was one of the blacksmiths apprentices and he was standing with a bucket of coal at his feet, having just been to the market to get some. He was leaning against the wall as if taking a short break from work – but he was fast asleep.

Harry shared a look with Cadoc, who was frowning worriedly.

The closer they got to the castle, the more people showed up. Every single one was asleep. They had been going through their daily routines and had then suddenly dropped into a deep sleep where they stood. The air felt heavy, like an ominous fog had covered the entire village. Though Harry did not yet feel the effects of the curse, he noticed that Louis had started yawning.

They didn’t have much time.

When they made it to the castle, Louis let out a panicked noise and nearly fell off his horse in his hurry to get inside. He tore up the stairs and was inside before Harry had even gotten off Gypsy.

All of the guards and servants in the courtyard were asleep. If the curse had reached the castle courtyard already, Louis’ family had most likely been affected too. Harry’s heart clenched at the thought of Louis finding his family dead asleep with little hope of waking them.

He found the prince in the bedchamber of the oldest twins. Daisy and Phoebe were sound asleep in their beds with Charlotte and Félicité half sitting, half leaning over the beds beside them, also asleep. The two princesses had come to visit at the worst time possible. They looked peaceful but Harry knew it did nothing to help Louis’ growing panic. Although there was nothing he could say to soothe Louis, Harry placed a calming hand on his arm. His whole body was tense, shaking and his hands were curled into fists at his side.

   “Look at them,” he whispered, voice quavering. “Who would do something like this?”

   “We’ll save them Louis,” Harry reassured him, praying that he was right. “I’ll do everything in my power to make sure they wake up again.”        

   “I know,” Louis mumbled, looking at Harry with big, earnest eyes. “I trust you.”

Warmth spread all throughout Harry’s body and for a second, it felt like everything was okay. He could reach out and caress Louis’ cheek, lean in and kiss him like he wanted to do so, so much… but he couldn’t. Louis wasn’t his anymore, and no matter how much Louis tried to mess with his head, he could not give in. He couldn’t do that to the princess marrying him, no matter how much he disliked her, and he couldn’t do that to himself.

He helped Louis carry Charlotte and Félicité to their own rooms and put them in their beds to make them more comfortable. They then moved to the king and queen’s chambers to check on them, and Louis was relieved to find his mother and two youngest siblings sleeping soundly on the bed. His father was sleeping over his desk, but at least they were safe.

Cadoc followed them around silently, glaring at everything around him. He had come from a very poor family in another kingdom, and the royal family had turned away their pleas for help. So needless to say, he was not very fond of royals. The fact that Louis’ father had ordered an attack that killed a friend of his did not help. His friend didn’t even have magic, he had just been at the wrong place at the wrong time.

Harry hoped Niall and Liam were somewhere safe too, but they didn’t have the time to walk all around the castle to try and find them. They needed to find the vessel. Though Harry knew it could be just about anywhere and anything, he wanted to start with Paul’s infirmary. He hoped Paul would have maybe noticed something strange around the castle or found some kind of potion that could help and had written it down before falling asleep. It was a long shot, but Paul was a very observant man – if anything unusual had happened at the castle, he would know about it.

As expected, they found the physician sound asleep at his desk. Multiple books were open and spread out over the whole workspace around him. Multiple potions lined the many tables around him as well as tonics, herbs and jars with strange looking mixtures and objects in them. It was clear he had been working on a cure for the strange illness.

   “Come on, Paul,” Harry mumbled to himself as he started methodically going through the books Paul had pulled from his bookshelves. Cadoc too began searching for some kind of clue, but Louis stayed back, having no clue what to look for.

There was nothing of use in the books and Harry slammed them shut in frustration. In one last desperate attempt for Paul’s help, he got up and stood in front of him.

He took a deep breath. _“Ic acwoce the_ _.”_

Paul sat up abruptly, startling them all. He had a wide smile spread over his face but, though open, his eyes were distant. He was still asleep. It actually looked quite sinister and it sent a chill down Harry’s spine.

   “ _Ic the bebeode thaet thu nu slaepest!”_ Harry then tried, though this time the chair under Paul collapsed, sending him to the floor. Harry winced, sending a silent apology to the physician.

In a last, desperate attempt Harry held out both of his hands. “ _Brimstréam!”_ This time Paul was soaked with a large amount of water, but as Harry had expected, nothing happened. It did manage to wash away the menacing grin, but he was still nowhere near awake.

He turned to Cadoc, noticing that Louis was staring at him wide eyed, looking quite uncomfortable, but he ignored it. They could talk later. “The magic is too powerful for me,” he admitted. “We need to find the vessel, there is nothing else to do.”

   “The elders did say it would be difficult, do not blame yourself, Leigh,” Cadoc said, surprising Harry with his honesty. He had not thought the other druid could be this thoughtful. Perhaps he had misjudged him.

Cadoc then turned to Louis, both the prince and Harry looking at him in confusion. “You know these castle walls better than any of us. Have you noticed anything strange, anything out of place? The vessel could be anything, though I suspect it is attached to someone who can make sure it stays where it is supposed to be.”

Louis thought about it for a second but then shook his head. “We have not had any strangers in the castle around the time the sickness started, and I do not recall finding anything unusual. I’m sure someone would have reported it to either my father or I if they had thought something was suspicious.”

   “We have to look then,” Harry sighed, rubbing his forehead. They really didn’t have time for it. Louis was still yawning, blinking sleepily like his eyes were getting heavy, and Harry was feeling it too. Like there was a fog at the very back of his mind, slowly creeping closer.

Nodding, Louis yawned again. “We should split up. That way we can cover more ground in shorter time.”

Cadoc made a noise of disagreement. “I was sent by the elders to protect Leigh, I am not leaving his side.”

   “Let us all go together,” Harry quickly broke in, wanting to avoid an argument. “We don’t know if anyone is out here, and you are in no fit state to fight, Louis.”

Although they did not look too pleased, the two boys nodded, glaring at each other.

And so they went on to search the castle. Looking through every nook and cranny as fast as possible, while making sure they didn’t miss anything. None of them were sure what they were actually looking for and just hoped they would realize it when seeing it. The longer it took, the more desperate they got.

Eventually they made it to Louis’ chambers, but as they were about to enter, there was a clattering noise from the inside like someone had dropped a cup. They all froze. A shiver ran up Harry’s spine and he felt his magic buzzing to life just beneath his skin. There was something in there, something powerful. Louis drew his sword, whole body tense, nodded at the two druids and then swung the door open, only to exclaim a confused “Amelia?” as he entered.

Harry felt sick to his stomach as he followed the prince inside, already knowing who was in there. The princess Louis was marrying. Or had already married. Harry really did not want to know.

A petite, read-haired girl was standing in the middle of the room, looking like a deer spotted by hunters. When her eyes landed on Louis, she sagged with relief, flinging herself into his arms with a squealing, “Louis!”

Louis dropped his sword, the weapon falling to the ground with a loud clash that echoed in Harry’s ears. Louis’ arms were around her waist and she was clinging onto him so tightly it looked painful. Harry felt his heart fall to his stomach then shatter into a million tiny pieces. If Louis didn’t like her, he wouldn’t let her hug him like that.

   “You are finally back!” the princess said as she pulled back. “I was afraid you hadn’t made it. Did you find someone who could help us?”

As if remembering the two druids with him, Louis turned around, panicked eyes finding Harry’s. He still had no idea Harry knew about the princess, and he had clearly not expected to have to introduce them. When he stepped towards Harry, eyes pleading for him to understand, Harry just shook his head and stepped back. Louis was not doing this to him. Louis was not the reason he was here. He was there to help his friends and then he would go back home. That was it.

An uncomfortable silence fell over them as Louis did not know what to say, and Harry clearly had no intentions of introducing himself.

It was Cadoc who eventually broke the silence, staring steely at Princess Amelia. “How are you still awake?” he asked suspiciously.

   “What?” she turned to him with a frown.

   “Everyone in the kingdom has fallen asleep, yet you are still awake,” Cadoc pressed, stepping closer. “How?”

Now that Harry thought about it, it was very odd. She had been at the castle for months, there was no reason for her not to be infected. Harry didn’t want his personal dislike for her to cloud his judgment, but now that he had regained some of his senses after the shock of seeing her, there was something about her that made him feel uneasy. There was something… prickly about her, like the feeling you get when your hand is about to fall asleep.  

   “I – I,” she stammered, eyes flickering around the room and hands fidgeting. Just as Harry thought she was about to explain, for maybe confess, Louis surprised him by speaking up, glaring angrily at Cadoc. “She has not been here for that long – perhaps the illness takes longer to affect someone than we thought. We have no idea how long this vessel has been here.”

Harry was stunned. He felt like he had just been doused with cold water. Louis had actually defended her. He really did care about her.

   “Your highness,” Cadoc hissed, voice dripping with sarcasm as he clearly would rather call Louis something else. “You cannot deny that it is suspicious she is the only one not affected by the sickness at all.”      

   “This conversation is over!” Louis spat, putting an arm in front of Amelia as if to shield her. “We need to find the vessel before it is too late and now we have another to help us look.”

Not wanting to start a fight when time was running out, Harry just quietly accepted Louis’ words. He didn’t want to have to watch Amelia and Louis so close though, so he grabbed Cadoc’s arm and tugged him towards the door. “Since we are four now, there is no reason to stay together,” he mumbled, avoiding Louis’ eyes. “Cadoc and I will search the servants’ quarters.”

Right before he walked out of the room, he risked a look back. Louis was staring at him with wide, pleading eyes, begging Harry to understand. And he did, but that didn’t stop his heart from hurting. Then something on Louis’ desk caught his eye and he had to blink to make sure he wasn’t seeing things.

The magnolia he had given Louis was placed neatly in a small glass vase, still as fresh as the day he had created it. Louis had kept it all these months, having it on his desk where he would see it every day.

Just what did he want?

Harry shut his eyes tightly and quickly followed Cadoc out of the room.

   “I do not understand what you ever saw in that prat,” Cadoc said, shaking his head as they searched through one of the servants’ rooms.

Harry paused where he was going through the closet, turning to Cadoc shocked. “How did you know?” Harry had never mentioned his feelings for the prince, and certainly not their relationship. If Cadoc told the elders, they would never fully trust Harry again.

   “It’s obvious,” Cadoc rolled his eyes. “You keep looking at him when you know he isn’t looking at you, and when we found the princess still awake you looked like you had swallowed dirty pond water. By the way he looks at you, I’d say he feels the same.”

   “He does… I think,” Harry mumbled, a lump forming in his throat. “But it doesn’t matter. He is betrothed to Princess Amelia. Once we have found the vessel and lifted the curse, I will go back home. Please, don’t tell the elders. I swear Louis is no threat to us.”

   “I will take your secret with me to the grave, Leigh,” Cadoc said seriously, and Harry sighed in relief.

   “Thank you, Cadoc, really.”

They searched through the next chambers in silence, though there was something nagging at the back of Harry’s mind. Why was Cadoc this loyal to him? As far as Harry could remember, they had never really spoken until now. So why was he this ready to keep something this big from the people who took him and his family in?

While he was dying to ask, he did not want to offend the other druid. His business was his own and it was enough he had agreed to help Harry save someone he so obviously despised.

Lost in his own thoughts, he did not even notice them going through the last of the servants’ quarters, and it was only when he walked straight into Cadoc’s back he noticed they were back at Louis’ chambers. It was also then he noticed how tired he suddenly felt. His mind felt heavy and he blinked a couple of times to try and get rid of the dryness in his eyes.

They had spent longer than he thought looking for the vessel, and they were no closer than before.

   “Your mind wandered, Leigh,” Cadoc stated quietly as he helped steady Harry back on his feet. “Is something wrong?”

   “I was just wondering about something…” Harry admitted, clearing his throat. He needed to know. “Why are you helping me? What have I done to deserve your loyalty?”

A small, wistful smile spread over Cadoc’s lips and he tilted his head slightly. “You really do not remember, do you?”

He must have seen the look of pure confusion on Harry’s face because he let out a light chuckle. “I thought as much. Do you remember when I first came to the village?” Harry slowly shook his head, curious as to where he was going. “I was young and scared, my family had nothing left so they went to the druids for help. Somehow they saw potential in me and welcomed us, but I didn’t understand. Training was hard and all the other children were better than me, I felt like a failure. One day, I couldn’t take it anymore and I decided to run away.”

Another chuckle. “I didn’t even make it a mile into the forest before I met you. You were playing with the squirrels, flowers in your hair. I remembered seeing you play with the other kids, but I had been too scared to try and talk to you. When you noticed me, you smiled so… brightly, so happily and asked me to come and play with you. So I did. And when we were done, you took my hand and pulled me back to the village where you introduced me to all the other children. I forgot all about wanting to run away.”

   “Cadoc, I ...” Harry was speechless. He honestly couldn’t remember. At some point they must have stopped being friends… was it something Harry had done? The thought of Cadoc maybe watching him with his friends from afar, feeling rejected that Harry no longer spoke to him had Harry feeling like a terrible person.

   “You never turned your back on me, Leigh,” Cadoc then said as if knowing what Harry was thinking. “I was the one who pulled away. I was never comfortable with too much social interaction, while you flourished in it. We were too different in the end, but I will never forget how you helped me.”

Not knowing what to say, Harry just smiled and placed a hand on Cadoc’s arm. He was so touched by how such a small act of kindness could have stuck with the other druid for so long.

   “Well isn’t this nice,” Louis’ voice cut in, sharp through the otherwise soft moment. “Have you found anything or did you spend all this time chatting?”

Harry frowned at him. So now he was jealous? He had absolutely no right to be when he at the same time had a princess hanging off his own arm. Harry and Cadoc were just friends, Louis was the one who was getting married. There was no reason for him to be this bitter.

   “We found nothing suspicious,” Harry mumbled sourly, crossing his arms. He hadn’t felt any anything unusual either, nothing like the presence he had felt in Louis’ chambers earlier.

   “We didn’t find anything either,” Amelia said, popping out from behind Louis. She looked worried, but still didn’t look tired. Louis however looked even worse than before. His eyes were bloodshot, he was sweating and his breathing was strained.

Cadoc too had begun showing signs of fatigue. It seemed it affected him more than Harry, as he was already breathing a little heavier and kept shaking his head to keep himself awake. 

Amelia was fussing over Louis, petting his hair and gently patting his cheeks to keep him awake. At one point she looked up, eyes meeting Harry’s and he realized he had been staring. The second their eyes met, a chill shot up his spine and he froze. She smiled at him, a little unnerved by his obvious staring, so he quickly looked away. There was something off about her. Something he couldn’t quite place.

   “What are your thoughts, Leigh?” Cadoc asked. “You know these grounds better than I do, do we have enough time to search again?”

They had to try and search the castle again. Even if Louis didn’t have much time left before he would fall asleep, Harry and Cadoc had a little more time. They needed to find that source, no matter what. If the two druids fell asleep as well, there was no hope left for Camelot.

   “We have to try,” Harry sighed, rubbing his temples.

Louis suddenly stumbled, crashing right into Harry who quickly helped steady him back on his feet. The prince felt warm, he had reached the fever stage now. Harry felt powerless, there was nothing he could do to help him.

   “Louis, are you okay?” Amelia gasped, hands flitting over his body to see if he was hurt. At one point her fingers grazed Harry’s arm, and it felt like he had been stung by a wasp. He nearly ripped his arm back, but quickly calmed himself otherwise Louis would fall. The princess turned to him and he managed to bite back a grimace. “Can’t you help him? I thought you were healers.”

   “There is no cure for this illness,” Harry snapped, not feeling like being scolded by someone who knew nothing about the situation. Though actually, this was the perfect chance for him to send her away. He couldn’t think clearly when she was in the room and he didn’t trust her at all. He cleared his throat and took a calming breath. “There may not be a cure, but I can still help with the fever. I have most of what I need in my satchel here, but I need some fresh water. Would you mind getting it for me?”

Amelia nodded quickly and was about to walk away. Then, as a second thought, she paused and then turned back to Louis. She glanced back at Harry with a small smirk and then pulled Louis into a lingering kiss. If there had been anything left of his heart to break, this would have completely shattered it, but now Harry just felt numb. It was like someone shut off his emotions and he just found himself staring at the scene blankly.

Judging by the shocked look on Louis’ face, he hadn’t expected for her to do that, but Harry didn’t care. She had won and she knew it. She was just rubbing it in his face.

She gently lifted her hand and brushed Louis’ hair from his eyes. As she reached up the sleeve of her dress fell down slightly and something caught Harry’s eye that had his heart fall to his stomach. She was wearing a silver bracelet with a huge amber stone in the middle. And while it could just be a normal piece of jewelry, amber was rarely used by people without magic.

The second Amelia had walked around the corner, Harry pulled Louis into his chambers and closed the door, making sure to put the latch on. He ignored the look of confusion on the prince and turned to Cadoc.

   “Did you see it?” he asked urgently and Cadoc nodded. 

   “I felt it too, though I was not sure exactly what it was,” he said, confirming the strange sensations Harry had been feeling too. It all made sense now, it had to be her.  

   “What are you talking about?” Louis asked, clearly not pleased with being left out of the discussion.

   “We found the vessel, Louis,” Harry explained, heart beating faster at the thought. How was Louis going to react to this? “How long has Amelia had that bracelet?”

   “Uh I don’t know. She started wearing it a little while ago I think… she told me it used to be her grandmother’s. Why?” Louis narrowed his eyes, apparently picking up on what Harry was trying to say. “You’re saying the bracelet is the vessel?”

Harry slowly shook his head. “No, Louis. Amber is a powerful magical stone indeed and is capable of harnessing powerful spells, but nothing like this. Amber is more commonly used to help focus one’s magic on a single intent. Young druids often use it when practicing spells. With time it can become a source for your magic, an item from which you can draw a little more power if you’re in a pinch. The only reason for her to be using one is…” he sighed, looking Louis in the eyes in the hopes of him seeing the truth. “ _She_ is the vessel, Louis. She has to be.”

A slightly hysterical laugh escaped the prince and he stepped away from Harry, shaking his head. “You’re accusing her of cursing the entire kingdom because she is wearing a bracelet that could _maybe_ be magical? You have absolutely no evidence.”

   “I’ve felt the magic whenever she was around, I just didn’t know it was her!” Harry defended himself. “And this explains why she isn’t affected by the curse at all, you know it makes sense. There is no other explanation – Cadoc and I haven’t even been here for a day and we are already feeling it. There is no way she shouldn’t be asleep right now. Louis, you know it’s true!”

   “That doesn’t mean it’s her doing!” Louis snapped back angrily. “She has been here for months, why would she do this now? I refuse to believe she could do something this cruel. I’m beginning to think you are only accusing her because you dislike her, but she has done nothing to deserve this. You told me druids were peaceful, but the old druid said we needed to destroy the vessel. We are not killing Amelia, I refuse. If this is how magic works, I can see why my father banned it from the kingdom. It brings nothing but death.”

The force of Louis’ words had Harry taking a step back. Tears welled up in his eyes and he put his hand in front of his mouth in shock. Louis trusted her more than he trusted Harry, how did it come to this? Did Harry really mean that little to him? After everything they’ve been through, after everything Louis had promised him… nothing had changed. Louis still hated the part of him that was magic. Every reassuring word he had said had been lies.

Harry should never have believed him.

Louis stood in front of him, exhausted to the point of nearly fainting, hands clenched angrily by his side. His eyes were wide as if he too was surprised by his own words, but he made no move to take them back or apologize.

   “Leigh, we should go. Our help is clearly not wanted anymore, let us go home before it is too late,” Cadoc mumbled, gently wrapping an arm around Harry’s shoulders to steer him out. Numbly, Harry let him lead him towards the door but they only made it a few steps until Louis grabbed onto him.

   “You are not leaving!” he demanded angrily. “And would you _stop_ calling him that, his name is Harry!” 

Cadoc ripped Harry away from the prince and stood in front of him protectively, holding out one of his hands in case Louis decided to try and use force again. He was swaying slightly from fatigue but did not waver in his stance. “How dare you treat him like this?!” Cadoc spoke, voice loud and commanding. “You are standing in front of one of the most powerful sorcerers to ever walk this earth and you treat him like a mere servant! His kindness is wasted on your kind. You royals never care about anyone but yourself, and yet he risked his own health to come here and save you. You need to show him some respect!”

The prince stared at them with a look of pure shock. It was rare someone had the guts to yell at him like that unless it was his father. But with the way he was staring at Harry almost in awe, Harry knew it was because he had maybe left out the little detail of who he actually was.

   “I told you I was born with magic, Louis,” he explained quietly. “It… it’s different from learning it through study. Anyone can learn magic if they work hard enough, though some have more potential than others. They have to learn how to connect with the magic around them, but, for me…”

   “Leigh _is_ magic,” Cadoc finished for him, looking almost softly at the other druid. “Very few have ever been able to perform magic right from birth, but all have grown up to be more powerful sorcerers than any other druid could ever hope to be.”

It was not something Harry liked to talk about. He didn’t like feeling better than others, feeling different. It was a heavy burden to know you had something so big to live up to. Everyone expected nothing but greatness from him and he was terrified of disappointing them. Coming to Camelot had given him the chance to be normal for a while, to be Harry again. No one needed to know where he came from. And even when they learned about his magic, they still didn’t know. He didn’t want them to treat him any different.

   “I…” Louis cut himself off, at a loss for words. He frustratedly ran a hand through his hair and cursed under his breath.

   “Louis,” Harry said softly, desperately. “You know I wouldn’t do this if there was another way, but we have no choice if we want to save the kingdom. She knew the possible consequences when she cast the spell, there is nothing else we can do. You have to believe me.”

   “But what if she’s innocent?” Louis fired back though he was running out of anger. Now he just sounded tired. “Someone could be using her to do this.”

   “With magic this powerful there is no way she isn’t aware it,” Cadoc snapped. His patience was wearing thin.

The two stared each other down, both now panting hard from anger and exhaustion. Neither had the energy to argue any further, but none of them wanted to be the one to give up first. When Louis suddenly swayed like he was going to fall over, Harry drew the line and stepped in between them. He held out his hand and telepathically drew a chair closer, forcing Louis to sit down. Too weak to resist, Louis just slumped down with a sigh of defeat and rested his head in his hands.

   “I need to be sure, Harry,” he said tiredly. “I can’t just kill her because you have a hunch, you understand that, right?”

   “You mean like your father made sure every person he executed had actually performed magic? That people with magic had used it with ill intentions?” Cadoc sneered. “Innocent people died and none of you cared. Why are you suddenly caring now? Because you know her? You royals are all the same.”

Louis flinched, eyes going dark with regret at Cadoc’s words. He knew Cadoc was right. Louis had never truly supported his father’s obsession with hunting down and executing everyone who had anything to do with magic, but it had never been this close to home before. He had been able to distance himself from it until now.

When Louis glanced up at Harry, his eyes were shining with tears and he reached out to grab one of Harry’s hands. Had Harry been discovered by anyone other than Niall and Liam, he would not have been alive now. It seemed to sink in for Louis just what the consequences of his father’s hate had for the kingdom and everyone living in it.

   “I don’t know what to do,” Louis admitted brokenly, squeezing Harry’s hand. “I feel powerless. I… I won’t have the strength to kill her, she – “ he looked away guiltily. “She’s my friend.”

Though it broke his heart, Harry squeezed Louis’ hand back. He needed someone supportive right now, nothing else mattered.

Someone suddenly pulled on the door, startling them all, though it didn’t open because it was hatched. Amelia’s confused voice sounded from the other side and Harry sent a panicked look at Cadoc. What should they do?

   “Don’t hurt her,” Louis pleaded. “I’ll try talking to her.”

Cadoc huffed but when Harry just nodded in defeat, he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against the wall. Harry felt bad for ignoring his warnings, but he was at a loss. He had no idea what to do. Maybe Louis really could talk to her?

He opened the door and Amelia walked in with a bucket of water just as Harry had asked. She was frowning, but didn’t say anything as she put it down. Harry slowly began finding herbs from his satchel, mixing them in a cup from Louis’ desk. They didn’t want her to get suspicious.

   “Could you put a cloth with the cold water in their foreheads?” Harry asked, nodding towards Cadoc who now too was beginning to sweat from exhaustion. Though Harry was concerned for them, he tried not to show it too much.

Amelia nodded and did as told, the two of them working in silence. The buzzing was back under his skin, and he was unable to have his back to the princess. He felt too threatened by the presence. He kept glancing back at Louis, hoping he would say something – anything – but the prince kept silent. Harry hoped it was because he was trying to figure out just what to say, but he feared it was because he wasn’t going to say anything.  

With the herbs he had, Harry actually managed to make a tonic for the fever. It wasn’t going to help anything, Amelia would know that, but Harry gave it to Louis and Cadoc anyway to keep up the pretense of not knowing.

   “Have you figured out what we are going to do?” Amelia asked and once again Harry was a bit thrown off by what sounded like genuine worry in her voice. He was so sure though, it had to be her. There was no way the amber bracelet alone could contain that kind of magic, and she was the only one awake. It was the only explanation, she was just good at deceiving.

When Louis didn’t say anything, Harry spoke up. “We have to do another search. This will make them feel a little more awake to give us some more time,” he lied smoothly.

Amelia nodded and bent down to wet the cloth for Louis’ forehead again. Louis let out a small gasp and Harry’s head shot up in alarm. The prince was staring at Amelia with wide eyes, mouth hanging open, shock and disgust written all over his face. Amelia hadn’t noticed yet and Louis managed to turn his face back into a neutral expression as she stood up again.

He reached out and grabbed Harry’s hand hard, pulling him closer. Harry met his eyes in confusion and Louis slowly looked towards Amelia and back at Harry again. As Harry looked to where Louis wanted him, Harry felt his heart sink.

A large, chunky crystal hung from a thin silver chain around Amelia’s neck. The crystal was white but clear. Louis’ face was clearly reflected on the blank surface, but where Amelia’s face was supposed to be was that of an older, dark-haired woman. Harry had heard stories about crystals like that, but he had never seen one before.

These crystals allowed the person who was wearing it to take the shape of anyone whose blood touched it. With a small amount of blood, you could become anyone. Blood crystals were extremely rare and were considered dark magic.

Finally noticing how Harry and Louis had been staring at her, Amelia looked at them confused. “What is it?” she asked. “Do I have something on my face?” She ran her fingers down her face to check if there was anything and then looked down herself when she didn’t find anything. When seeing the crystal was visible, she hastily put it back under her dress.

Louis snapped out of whatever trance he had been in and stumbled back away from her, the chair tumbling over with a crash. Despite the exhaustion he managed to draw his sword and hold it out in front of him.

   “Louis!” she gasped, holding out her hands in defense. “What are you doing?” She tried to take a step towards him, but Harry quickly stepped in between the two. Louis was in no state to defend himself. Cadoc seemed to realize something was going on and he staggered to his feet, placing himself beside Harry.

   “Who are you?!” Louis demanded, pointing at the now covered crystal.

   “W-what?” she stammered, shaking her head in confusion. “Louis you know who I am, why are you doing this?”

For a second it looked as if Louis wavered in his determination so Harry quickly reached his hand out towards Amelia. “ _Onstyrian!”_

The crystal ripped off her neck and flew into Harry’s hand. And where Amelia had been standing was now a tall, dark-haired woman. Her face was twisted in a sneer, eyes black and cold. Realizing she had been exposed, she let out a loud cackle.

   “Looks like I’ve been figured out,” she spat, voice suddenly low and gravelly compared to the sweet voice of Amelia. “Oh well, I had hoped I wouldn’t have to do this, but I guess I have no choice. _Oferswinge!”_

An invisible force sent the three boys flying back into the wall, the force of it knocking all of the air out of Harry’s lungs. He heaved heavily, trying to get back on his feet but everything was blurry. He could faintly make out the woman circling them slowly, as if daring them to make a move. Beside him, Cadoc and Louis struggled to breathe as well and they both seemed like they had reached their limit.

   “Pathetic!” the woman mocked. “Is that all you’ve got? I expected more from you, the great _Leigh._ You know, when the prince first said he was going to get help, I never expected him to show up with _you_. I’ll admit, it made me a little nervous, someone as _powerful_ as you would surely be a problem but you sure have proven me wrong. I never thought you would be this weak, it’s laughable!”

Every word felt like a stab to Harry’s head and he really did feel pathetic as he fought to even get to his knees. What could he do to her? If she could bring him to his knees with one spell, how could he ever fight her?

   “Why are you doing this?” Louis gasped.

   “Why am I doing this?” she laughed, turning to Louis with a manic smile. “Because of your pig of a father! We could have had it all, we _had_ it all! We were happy, but then that ratched mother of yours showed up and ruined everything! They took everything from me so now I will take everything from them! The poison didn’t work, but this it much better. I’ll make them watch their kingdom _burn_!”

She let out a sigh and shook her head. “I wanted to wait until everyone was asleep to wake the king, but I guess I’ll have to deal with you stubborn lot first. A minor setback but nothing that’ll take me too much time.” With another cackling laugh she held out her hand towards Harry. “I think I’ll start with you. Oh how wonderful it will be, telling everyone that I’ve killed _the_ Leigh, the ‘shining hope’ of the future. Destined to be the greatest healer of all time. I will do down in history! Iseult the Grim has a nice ring to it, does it not?”

Louis let out a weak growl beside him and tried getting up, only to slump back down with a defeated whimper. He was too far gone now, the sleeping curse had taken over. On his other side Cadoc’s state seemed to have gotten rapidly worse as well and he was lying weakly on the floor, eyes burning with rage.

The only one left, who could do something, anything, was Harry. He needed to act now before it was too late for him.

His heart was beating loudly in his ears, feeling like it was going to burst out of his chest. He gathered every last bit of strength he had and staggered to his feet. Iseult laughed mockingly at his attempt and didn’t seem at all threatened by him.

   “ _Hleap on bæc!_ ” Harry croaked out, sending Iseult flying back into Louis’ desk, which cracked loudly. For a short, hopeful moment she didn’t move but then she quickly regained her senses and got back on her feet with surprising grace. Without missing a beat she held out her hand towards Harry.

   “ _Forb fleoghe!”_ What felt like a heavy gust of wind left Harry breathless as he once again was slammed against the wall. Her stunning spells were more powerful than Harry’s which was why she seemed completely unaffected while Harry could barely catch his breath. He felt helpless, mind a mess to try and come up with something he could do to stop her.

   “So pathetic,” she derided with a self-satisfied smirk. “Look at you, so weak. And for what? All of this for a kingdom who wants you burnt at the stake? The king won’t thank you, you will never be welcome here, so why waste your time?” Her eyes moved to Louis who sneered at her and she let out a fake gasp. “Oh yes, the prince. How could I forget? All of this pain for a prince who doesn’t even love you!”

Although Harry knew she was just trying to play tricks on his mind, every word she spoke was like a dagger. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to tone her out as he fought to get back on his feet but she just kept talking.

   “Did you really believe he would ever love someone like you? He will never accept who you are! You have known him for years yet he trusted me over you without a second thought. I had him wrapped around my finger. You mean nothing to him, he never loved you like he loved me.”

Her voice swirled around his head like a black fog, keeping him from concentrating. It was like she was hypnotizing him. He knew she didn’t speak the truth, but he felt his mind and body slowly give up. What if she was right? Would Louis ever truly love and accept who he was?

While he was battling with his own mind, he didn’t notice how she had called Louis’ sword towards her. It levitated in front of her, pointing right at Harry’s head.

   “You will never see your beloved prince again. Was it worth it?” she spat, eyes glowing golden. “ _Swilte, Leigh_!”

The sword suddenly flew forward but Harry was frozen in place, staring at the sharp blade with dazed eyes. Someone shouted his name and he felt a weak tug on his arm, but it barely moved him. He blinked once, and suddenly it seemed as if time slowed down. The sword was uncomfortably close to his face, his breath fogging the edge of the blade. He could see Louis’ and Cadoc’s panicked faces out of the corners of his eyes but it was as if they had been stopped mid-motion. Cadoc was the one grabbing onto his arm and one of Louis’ hands hung motionlessly in the air as he reached out towards Harry.

He focused back on the sword and blinked again, eyes closing and opening slowly. His eyes glowed gold as he focused everything he had on the sword and then time started as abruptly as it had stopped.

His name was shouted again and he was pulled down. The sword however had already been deflected and fell uselessly to the floor with a loud clash, the sound reverberating through the room. Although time was moving again, everyone was frozen, staring at the sword in shock and wonder. Even Harry was just looking at it, stunned. He should have been dead.

   “ _How?!_ ” Iseult screeched. “That’s impossible! How did you stop it?!”

Enraged she threw out her hands and Harry was lifted off his feet, back slammed against the wall. She held him there, hovering above the floor with an immense invisible pressure on his chest. Too tired now to fight back, Harry felt his body go limp. Iseult was growling like an animal, pure fury and hatred on her face as she clenched her fingers, increasing the pressure on Harry.

   “You are harder to kill than I thought,” she snarled. “But you will lose!”

Struggling to breathe, Harry desperately tried to come up with something he could do but his limbs weren’t responding.  He looked around to see if there was anything he could use, but sadly only found Cadoc fast asleep at his feet. The druid had been more affected by the curse than Harry had thought. He was expecting to find Louis asleep as well, but was shocked to see the prince standing up with his sword in his hands.

He was swaying dangerously and his eyes were glazed over as if he was already sleeping, but with a look of fierce determination on his face, he moved to strike

Iseult was too busy with torturing Harry, too caught up in her hatred, that she didn’t even notice Louis moving in on her before it was too late. With one swing, the sharp blade penetrated her abdomen and she sunk to her knees with a gurgling shriek.

   “ _NO!”_ she wailed, trying uselessly to stop the gushing blood with her hands.

Now that the sorceress was no longer holding him up, Harry fell to the floor, just barely managing to brace himself. He noticed her turning her angry gaze to Louis who was now on his knees, out of breath and completely unable to defend himself.

With everything he had in him, Harry weakly lifted his hand off the stone floor and held it out towards her. Just as he opened his mouth, Iseult let out a guttural scream and threw her hands at Louis.

   “ _Tæfle!”_

Louis hit the wall with a sickening thud, landing limply on the broken desk. He didn’t get up. He didn’t move.

Fury welled up inside Harry, his eyes blazing gold. His vision turned red and it felt like his body was burning. His heartbeat sounded almost deafening in his ears as he slowly got to his feet, suddenly feeling strong enough to take on an army.

Iseult was desperately trying different healing spells on herself, though Harry knew it was futile. Healing deadly wounds on another person would be challenging, healing one on yourself would be nearly impossible. It would be even for Harry. She was only prolonging the inevitable.

Now, Harry had never been a cruel person, but seeing her suffering like that was strangely satisfying. That cruel part in him wanted her to bleed out slowly, suffer until her very last breath for what she had done to Louis, to Camelot… but he was not a cruel person. That however did not mean he was going to save her, he was just going to end her suffering.

Every life he had ever taken had been to save Louis. A necessary evil to protect the prince. A burden Harry had to carry for the rest of his life, knowing he had gone against everything magic was. In all of his years in Camelot, he had lost a little piece of himself with every life lost at his hands but this time… the world would truly be a better place without her. Looking at her now, he felt only hatred. He would feel no remorse.

   “ _Swelte_ _thá scinnlæcan_ ” he hissed out, bile rising up his throat as Iseult dropped to the floor, dead.   

The effect was almost immediate. The heavy feeling in the air slowly lifting, leaving everything able to breathe properly again, but Harry couldn’t focus on anything other than Louis’ lifeless body.

He dropped to his knees beside the prince and gently placed his injured head in his lap. He was so still Harry couldn’t even see if he was breathing or not. Suppressing a sob, Harry placed one of his hands on Louis’ chest. “ _Gestathole. Thurhhæle.”_

Nothing happened. Beneath his palm was only the faintest of hint that Louis was even alive, the weak thumping of his heart.

“ _Ahluttre tha seocness. Thurh-hæle bræd!”_ He cried desperately, voice hoarse. “Come on, Louis! Wake up!”

He squeezed his eyes shut, tears spilling over. Clutching Louis to him, he let out a cry of frustration. He was supposed to be one of the greatest healers ever, yet he couldn’t even heal the prince, his love. He had failed.

Shuffling noises from his right told him that Cadoc was already starting to wake up, yet Louis was still lying motionless. Harry was desperately trying to come up with a spell strong enough to save him - there had to be one! He couldn’t let him die like this, not without seeing his family awake and well. Not without knowing how much he meant to Harry.

 _“Efencume...”_ his voice broke as another sob shook his body. He stubbornly tried to dry away the tears clouding his vision and took a shaky breath. “ _Efencume ætgædre, eala gastas cræftige: gestricie pis lic forod.”_

His eyes glowed as he felt the last of his energy leave his body. It was an extremely draining spell that used both the energy around them as well as the energy of the sorcerer using the spell, but Harry was desperate. He would do anything to save Louis.

Seconds passed where nothing happened and a numbing feeling spread through Harry’s body. Tears were streaming down his cheeks but he couldn’t feel it anymore. His eyes were staring at the wall, but he wasn’t really looking. His mind was just white noise. He had failed.

He didn’t know how long he sat there. It felt like forever, but were probably only a couple of minutes.

Suddenly something touched his cheek and he blinked, everything coming back into focus. There was a hand on his cheek, gently caressing the tear streaked skin.

   “Why the tears, my love?”

The voice was soft though slightly raspy and croaky and so, so familiar. Chills went up Harry’s spine and his heart soared, a fresh wave of tears welling up in his eyes, this time from relief and pure happiness. He let out a weak whimper as he leaned down and kissed Louis with everything he had. Louis didn’t even hesitate to kiss him back, the two boys hanging on to each other for dear life. 

When everything got too much for him, Harry had to pull away and he couldn’t hold it back anymore. He buried his face in Louis’ chest and let go, sobbing loudly. He felt overwhelmed with emotions and he didn’t know what to do with it all. Relief, exhaustion, joy, love.

Louis just held him close, calmingly running his fingers through Harry’s tangled hair. He whispered soothing words and hummed the lullabies he would sing for his sisters.

And for the first time since he left Camelot, Harry felt like he was finally home.

When Harry had eventually calmed down, Louis went to check on his family. The kingdom was slowly waking up and the once so familiar buzz of life was once again humming in the castle halls. Confused servants were milling around, trying to get back to their usual routines. A blackbird was singing right outside the window and it was like the sun was shining a bit brighter.

Cadoc had silently gotten rid of the body, though just what he did with it Harry didn’t know. The druid had been unusually silent, even for him, after waking up, and he refused to look Harry in the eye.

Once Harry had been able to look at the blood without wanting to throw up, he had quickly cleaned it up, cheating with his magic so he wouldn’t have to actually touch it. The desk he couldn’t do anything about, but he figured Louis wouldn’t care that much about it.

He was sitting on Louis’ bed, waiting for the prince or Cadoc to come back when the door was swung open, slamming against the wall loudly. Niall and Liam threw themselves at the druid boy before he had the time to react.

   “Harry!” Niall cried out, hugging him tightly. “I’ve missed you!”

Despite being crushed beneath the two knights, Harry hugged them back just as tightly. He had missed them so much and he was beyond relieved to see them both alive and well.

   “Louis told us what happened,” Liam said, voice slightly muffled as his face was pressed against Niall’s shoulder. “Are you okay?”

   “You saved us all, Harry!” Niall cut in, rubbing his cheek against Harry’s. “I’m so proud of you!”

Harry giggled wetly, eyes shining with happy tears. “I’m fine, Liam. Tired, but I’m okay. And thank you, Niall, though I didn’t do it alone.”

Someone cleared their throat near the door and Harry looked over the heads of the two knights, seeing Cadoc standing there looking mildly uncomfortable. He probably wasn’t used to showing his affection so physically with his friends, so seeing the three of them lying tangled in one big pile was probably a little odd.

   “You are giving yourself far too little credit, Leigh,” the druid spoke. “We would have lost, had it not been for you. I wasn’t able to do anything. I failed you and for that I am truly sorry. The elders should have chosen someone else to guard you.”

Shaking his head, Harry sat up as much as possible. “No Cadoc that isn’t true! Without you believing in me I would have never made it this far. I was too distracted but you made me focus on what was more important.”

A faint blush spread over Cadoc’s cheeks and he looked stunned at Harry’s sincerity. He smiled slightly, but didn’t say anything else, probably not knowing what to say at something like that. The druid bowed his head slightly and then retreated to a corner of Louis’ room that was cut off from the rest by a folding screen. It was not safe for him to wander around the castle on his own yet, as magic was still outlawed in the kingdom. If he was discovered by a knight they would execute him on the spot.

Still completely exhausted, Harry closed his eyes. With Liam and Niall cuddling him he felt warm and comfortable and it didn’t take him long to fall asleep.    

It was dark outside when Harry was woken up by someone gently shaking his shoulder. Liam and Niall were no longer beside him, instead Cadoc was standing beside Louis’ bed, looking at Harry with a small smile.

   “We should go, Leigh,” he said quietly.

   “W-what…?” Harry mumbled tiredly, rubbing his eyes. Leave?

   “Everything has calmed down now, we’ll be able to sneak out without getting caught,” Cadoc explained as Harry groggily sat up. “We need to get back home before someone finds us.”

Harry shook his head as his mind slowly cleared, now understanding what Cadoc was talking about. They couldn’t just leave, not now. There were still people he wanted to see, wanted to make sure they were okay. And then there was Louis… they had a lot to talk about, Harry didn’t want to leave knowing they weren’t okay.

   “Leigh,” Cadoc sighed and sat down beside the other boy, sensing Harry’s hesitation. “We don’t belong here, we never will, you have to see that. Your prince may know about your secret, but he obviously doesn’t trust you. You will always be second guessing what he truly thinks about you. You know I’m right. This is not your home, it will never make you happy. Come back to Mirabel with me, your family will be waiting for your return.”

Though it hurt to admit, Harry couldn’t help but wonder if what Cadoc said was true. Louis had trusted Amelia over Harry. It was nothing new for Harry to hear Louis express his hatred for magic, but he had hoped that it would have changed after Louis learned who Harry was. Harry had expected for it to take some time for the prince to get used to,  but he hadn't thought he would have made no progress at all. No matter how accepting he had seemed, when it came down to it, he had still held on to his old beliefs.

If Harry did stay, what would happen next time they were in danger? Would Louis truly be able to let go of his prejudice?

When around Louis he would constantly have to think about what he said or did when it came to magic, he couldn’t be happy like that.

   “I see you’re putting thoughts in his head again.” Louis’ voice was sharp as he emerged from behind the folding screen. He must have been there the whole time. The prince still looked tired, but had obviously had some rest as well. “I would appreciate it if you refrained from meddling in matters that doesn’t concern you. You clearly have no idea what you are talking about.”

Cadoc sneered at him but Harry held up a hand to stop him from saying anything. He did not want the two of them fighting. This was something he needed to do with Louis alone. Looking pleadingly at the other druid, he silently asked him to leave them to discuss this alone. Cadoc nodded, mouth in a tight grimace as he walked out the door.     

   “You’re not really leaving, are you?” Louis asked once Cadoc had closed the door.

   “I don’t know…” Harry admitted, looking down at his hands as he twisted his ring.

   “Harry,” Louis sighed, grabbing the younger boy’s hands gently. “You don’t actually believe what he says, do you?”

He sounded almost patronizing, as if he was speaking to a child and Harry huffed, pulling his hands away. Did they have to go through this every time?  

   “I’m just being cautious!” he snapped, glaring at the prince. “It’s not like you have given me any reason not to believe it. How can I know you trust me?”

   “Of course I trust you, Harry. Don’t be ridiculous.” Louis crossed his arms defensively in front of him. “I don’t see why we’re even arguing about this. You wouldn’t be worried about something this stupid if that friend of yours didn’t try and turn you against me all the time.”

   “This has nothing to do with Cadoc!” Harry’s voice rose as he felt more and more irritated by the prince. Louis’s eyes narrowed at the mention of the other druid, but Harry ignored him. His jealousy was completely misplaced. “I’m only worrying about it because you keep making me doubt that you’ve changed! Every time I think you accept who I am, you turn on me. I don’t care how many times you say you trust me when I can’t trust your words. I knew it would take time to get used to, but I see nothing has changed. You still believe all the poisonous words your father has fed you all of your life. How can I know it won’t always be like this? How can I trust that you won’t hate the part of me that is magic? I can’t live my life always worrying I’ll do something wrong when I’m around you.”

He took a deep breath to calm himself as he had found himself shouting at the end and he didn’t want to argue. But it felt good to finally say everything he had been thinking.  

Louis looked at him, stunned by his outburst. He opened his mouth but Harry shook his head. He wasn’t done yet.

   “You trusted her words over mine, Louis, do you know how much that hurt?” he mumbled, not missing how Louis squeezed his eyes shut. “After everything we’ve been through… I thought you would know by now I would never hurt anyone if it wasn’t completely necessary. I… I’m just so confused, Louis, I don’t know what to think anymore. I want to trust you, but trust goes both ways.”

Silence fell over the room. Harry didn’t know what else to say and Louis was still standing with his eyes squeezed shut, hands clenched at his sides. Heart sinking, Harry was about to just leave before Louis would say something that could completely break his heart, when Louis finally spoke up.

   “I was terrified,” he whispered, voice shaking slightly as he looked up into Harry’s eyes. “I _am_ terrified. There was so much happening and I had no idea what to do. I had just gotten used to having lost you, and I thought I could move on if I just found someone else… I knew I would never love Amelia like she wanted, but I hoped it could be enough. Then suddenly my kingdom is in danger and I can’t do anything about it. And despite everything I’ve done to you, you still drop everything to help me. I thought I’d never see you again and then suddenly you’re here only… you’re different.”

He pauses, looking at Harry with wide eyes. “The Harry I knew was gentle and sweet and… fragile I guess, but then suddenly you’re here all fierce and powerful and I don’t know how to handle this side of you. Is – is Harry even your name?”

Nodding, Harry swallowed around the lump in his throat. He felt like crying. “Harry is what my mother named me. Leigh is the name the druids gave me, it – it means healer. I… I prefer Harry, though.”

Louis nodded too and exhaled shakily. “I always knew you were brave, you never left my side no matter what. I guess I just never saw how strong you were. Seeing you all… magical messed with my head a bit, and I took it out on you. I have to work on that, I know. And I know you’re worried about the future, so am I. Being with you is everything I could ever want, but I feel like I’m letting everyone down, my father, Camelot. I want to change that future though, I want to make this a kingdom where your people won’t ever have to fear for their lives again. I… I won’t lie and say it won’t take me more time to stop being wary of magic, but I promise you, I’m not who I used to be.”

   “Louis…” Harry’s eyes were shining with tears. He had no idea Louis had been worrying so much. Sometimes Harry forgot that Louis wasn’t as indestructible as his princely façade let you to believe. It didn’t excuse any of the foul words Louis had said to him, but Harry understood. They still had a lot of work to do, but it wasn’t as hopeless as Harry had feared.

   “Please, Harry. Don’t leave,” Louis pleaded, once again taking Harry’s hands. “I can’t watch you walk out of my life again, not when I finally have you here with me. At least stay another day, my sisters all miss you and I know Paul would like to see you.”

Knowing it would be impossible for him to leave now, Harry nodded and let Louis pull him in for a tight hug. Truth was, Harry never really wanted to leave. He wanted Louis to fight for him, wanted to see what he meant to the prince. He was so, so happy Louis had shown up when he had, otherwise he would have gone back to Mirabel and regretted it for the rest of his life.

   “I know I have made a lot of empty promises, so you probably won’t believe me when I say I won’t let you down again,” Louis mumbled into his hair, squeezing Harry a bit tighter. “And I’m probably going to cock it up sometimes, but I’ll do everything I can to change for the better.”

There was a knock on the door and they pulled away from each other, the moment between them broken. Louis cleared his throat awkwardly and spoke up, “Come in.”

A terrified looking servant boy who couldn’t be older than 12 came in, staring intensely at his shoes to avoid any eye contact. The Tomlinsons were by no means cruel to their servants and treated them well, but the younger servants were often very intimidated by them. Harry too had been there.

   “Yes?” Louis asked kindly when the boy didn’t say anything. “Did someone ask for me?”

   “Y-yes your highness,” the boy finally stammered, face going red. “Your father asks to see you and the two druids immediately. He’s in the throne room.”

Louis tensed up but still managed to smile at the servant. “Thank you, we will see him right away.”

The boy nodded and quickly fled the room, the door closing behind him with a thud. Louis reached out and grabbed Harry’s hand. He was staring at the door, eyebrows furrowed and mouth in a tight line.

   “I- I’m not sure if you should go,” he eventually said, and that was not what Harry had expected at all. Admittedly he wasn’t keen on seeing the king, who knows what he wanted? They could be arrested as soon as they walked into the room for all he knew, but he hadn’t thought Louis of all people would be concerned. “My father isn’t heartless but… I – when I told him how you helped us, he sent me away. I don’t know how he feels, and I’m worried. I know how it feels to be blinded by hate and fear.”

He turned to Harry, a fire in his eyes Harry hadn’t seen in a long time. “I’ll stand by you,” he said. “No matter what father says. I’ll make him see the truth. He can’t touch you, not unless he wants to go through me.”

It felt like Harry’s heart swelled in his chest, warmth spreading through his body. Louis was prepared to go against his father to defend Harry. He was at a loss for words and could only squeeze Louis’ hand, hoping he understood how grateful he was.

They went to the throne room together, picking up Cadoc on the way where he had been hiding in a small corner down a never used corridor. Louis never let go of Harry’s hand, not even when they passed a couple of servants who started whispering to each other as soon as they thought they were out of earshot. It felt like Harry was floating on a cloud, he was so happy. With Louis by his side, there was nothing they couldn’t do.

The king and queen were sitting on their thrones when they entered, the highest ranking knights lining the walls all done up in their Camelot-crested red capes. Harry felt so out of place in his green druid cloak and he couldn’t help but notice how many of the knights tensed up at the sight of the two druids. Harry wasn’t sure if Louis had told his father that Harry was one of the druids, but if he was surprised he didn’t show it. 

   “Welcome,” the king spoke, standing up as they all came to a stop beside a large table that stood in the middle of the room. “Please, sit down. Make yourself comfortable.”

Cadoc huffed beside him and kept standing, and when Louis made no moves to sit either, Harry kept standing as well. The king’s smile faded and he nodded with a sigh, sitting back down. The queen reached over and placed her hand over his.

   “I understand your dislike for me,” he said, eyes going from Cadoc to Harry. “I have done nothing to expect anything less. There is a lot for us to discuss, but first I want to thank you for coming to my aid when I needed it the most. I know I did not deserve such kindness, but I will be eternally grateful for you saving my kingdom. I could learn much from your selflessness. I am prepared to reward you anything you may desire, speak it and it will be yours.”

   “I want nothing from you,” Cadoc spat and Harry quickly put a calming hand on his arm. This was their chance at showing the king how wrong he had been, this was not a time for anger. The king smiled sadly at the druid’s hostility then looked at Harry.

   “We just want to be free,” Harry pleaded. “I understand that magic can be scary when you do not understand, but it is never evil. Whatever happened between Iseult and you is your business alone, but I know no druid would ever agree with her using magic for revenge. There will always be people who use magic with bad intentions, but it is no different from your weapons. Magic can do so much good in the right hands.”

The king nodded, a pained expression on his face at the mention of Iseult. He looked over at his wife, the two of them having a silent conversation with their eyes. When he looked back at Harry, it was as if he had aged years. “What happened with Iseult is not something I am proud of, she had every reason to be angry with me. Her actions were not something I had expected, and the shock of it led me to make a… rather rash decision. I thought I was doing the best for my kingdom and my people – her magic had destroyed so much. But I see now I was wrong. Decisions like that should never be made in fear. I can never undo the innocent deaths I have caused and I will never be able to forgive myself. I was blinded for too long.”

He was silent for a few seconds, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “I am prepared to lift the ban, no one shall ever feel unsafe in my kingdom for practicing magic. I will however not tolerate any use of harmful magic, and anyone who practices it with ill intentions will be brought to justice, I hope you understand.”

A huge wave of relief washed over Harry and he felt himself tearing up as he nodded. “Yes of course. Thank you so much, Your Highness!”

They were free.

It would of course take a while to get everything in order and have the people get fully used to the idea of sorcerers walking amongst them again, but they had cleared the biggest hurdle – the king was now on their side.

Even Cadoc beside him was fighting back a small smile when Harry beamed at him. He would probably never trust a royal, but it was a start. The druid bowed his head at the king and queen before dismissing himself. He had heard what he needed to hear, everything else Harry could handle.

As Harry watched Cadoc walk out, Louis suddenly spun him around and pulled him in for a bone crushing hug. Right there, in front of his parents and the knights. He laughed happily into Harry’s curls and was nearly squeezing the life out of the younger boy. When it became clear that Louis wasn’t about to let go of him anytime soon, Harry allowed himself to hug him back. Who cares if the whole kingdom saw it?

Someone eventually cleared their throat and Harry pulled back to see the king and queen smiling at them. He felt his face get warm and he moved to pull back but Louis’ arm around his waist prevented him from getting away.

   “Harry,” the king started, eyes warm and kind. “You have stood by my son for a long time now, as loyal as any knight, if not more. I am incredibly grateful to you for looking out for him, lord knows the boy can be reckless at times. Neither my son nor I deserve such loyalty from someone who would have every right to hate us – we could all learn a lot from your kindness and bravery. Not just any druid would dare hide right under my nose,” he chuckled as Harry giggled, shrugging sheepishly. At least he didn’t seem mad about Harry hiding his magic from them.

   “Now Harry, while I do know I have no right to ask anything of you, I do have a proposition and I hope you are willing to hear me out.”

Though he was a bit wary, Harry nodded. After all the kind things the king had said, he could at least hear what he had to say. He just hoped and prayed it wasn’t something that would overturn all of the progress they had made. Beside him, Louis was probably thinking the same thing as he tightened his arm protectively around him.

   “It is no secret that I have a very limited knowledge of magic, but I would like to learn. The whole kingdom needs to learn again, so I had hoped you would stay here at Camelot as our first Royal Sorcerer. This is of course not for me to take advantage of your magic, I only want for you to educate us. I would also be honored if you joined my council, I feel your knowledge would benefit the whole kingdom.”

Speechless, Harry just stared at the king, not sure if he had heard him right. He wanted Harry to be Camelot’s Royal Sorcerer _and_ make him a member of the council, it didn’t sound real. Too good to be true. But, although it sounded like everything Harry wanted, he found himself unable to say yes.

   “I am incredibly honored for this opportunity, Your Highness,” Harry said, feeling almost breathless. “But I am afraid I cannot say yes.”

Louis gasped and turned to look at Harry with wide eyes, but Harry kept looking straight ahead. He wouldn’t be able to handle the disappointment in the prince’s eyes.

   “I have a lot of things to figure out on my own before I could ever be ready for such responsibility.” 

The king look stunned as well, but then nodded with a sigh. “I understand. But do know that whenever you are ready, there will always be a position for you here. Now, I can imagine you must be tired. Please, go rest. We will celebrate tomorrow.”   

   “Thank you, Your Highness.” Harry bowed at the king, then turned and bowed for the queen as well before spinning on his heel and heading out the room. He could feel Louis hot on his heels but he kept walking, not wanting to discuss him turning down the offer yet. He was too tired to argue.

As he made the turn to head down to his own chambers, Louis suddenly grabbed onto his arm and tugged to make him stop. “Where do you think you’re going?” he asked, eyes narrowed.

   “I’m going to go sleep, Louis,” Harry answered, rolling his eyes. “It’s late and I’m tired.”

   “I _know_ you need to sleep,” Louis huffed, then started pulling Harry the other way. “But there is no way you are sleeping on that horrendous bed of yours. It’s like sleeping on a stone! You’re sleeping with me in my bed, it’s big enough for both of us. You need proper rest.”

Harry paused in his steps causing Louis to tug harder on his arm. “How do you know what my bed feels like?” He knew for sure Louis had never shared the bed with him, it was far too small and they hadn’t been as close as they were now.

Louis didn’t answer, but Harry could see the tips of his ears get red so he knew the prince was blushing. Had he slept in Harry’s bed while Harry was away? Just the thought of it made Harry giggle and he noticed Louis glaring at him out of the corner of his eye, which only made Harry laugh louder. The prince was oddly cute sometimes.

They made it to Louis’ chambers and got ready for bed silently. Louis still looked embarrassed and would look away with a blush every time their eyes met. It was only when they crept into bed that he regained his confidence and pulled Harry close under the covers, refusing to let the younger boy move too far away from him.

   “Sleep well, my love,” he mumbled, softly nuzzling his nose in Harry’s hair.

Only now did Harry notice just how tired he was. He relaxed in Louis’ arms and let the darkness embrace him, falling into a peaceful sleep. 

The next morning, Louis and Harry were woken up by a servant coming to serve them breakfast. The poor guy looked terribly uncomfortable when he noticed that Harry was in the prince’s bed as well. Louis acted like everything was normal, but Harry felt a little weird suddenly being the one getting served breakfast when it was usually him doing all the work.

When the breakfast was on the table, Louis sent the servant boy away who quickly exited the room, no doubt running off to tell everyone what he had seen. No official statement had been released yet, so people had yet to find out that Louis’ former betrothed was actually the evil sorceress. To most people, Louis looked unfaithful to the princess by having Harry in his bed. Although Louis didn’t seem too bothered by the servant seeing them, Harry wasn’t sure he had actually thought it through. He just hoped the king would address it soon so that Louis’ reputation wouldn’t be ruined.    

They ate in silence though it was surprisingly comfortable. Every once in a while their eyes would meet and they shared a small, shy smile before going back to their food.

It was Louis who eventually broke the silence. “I eh… I sort of promised my sisters that you would show them some magic,” he admitted, scratching his cheek sheepishly. “You don’t have to obviously, but they got really excited when I told them you were a druid.”

   “It’s okay, Louis,” Harry giggled. He knew Louis had never been able to tell his sisters no. “I can show them some tricks. I’m happy they’re curious and not scared after everything they have heard about magic. How… how did they take hearing that Amelia was… you know?”

Louis leaned back in his chair and pursed his lips thoughtfully. “Honestly? They never really liked her to begin with. I never really understood because she was always so nice to them, but I guess they had better gut instincts than me. They would avoid spending any time with her and eventually with me as well because they were mad at me.” He chuckled, shaking his head. “Phoebe even told me she wouldn’t talk to me unless I went and brought you back with me.”

Stunned, Harry blinked. Those girls knew more than what people gave them credit for it seemed. A smile grew on his face. Although it was a very petty thing to be feeling happy about, he couldn’t help but feel a little smug that Louis’ sisters liked him more than they had liked Amelia even before they knew she was evil.

   “So, is she speaking to you again?” Harry tried keeping a straight face but when Louis mock glared at him, he couldn’t hold back his giggles.

   “You’re enjoying this way too much,” Louis huffed though he was unable to old back a smile of his own.

The smile vanished and Louis suddenly looked very uncomfortable. “I really am sorry… about not telling you she would be here. I honestly expected for her to be asleep and – I don’t know – hide her from you, I guess?” he mumbled, glancing up at Harry. “I knew you would be hurt if you knew, and I didn’t want to ruin the last possible chance I had with you. So I just didn’t warn you. I’m sorry.”

   “I… I did know,” Harry admitted and Louis’ head snapped up, confusion in his eyes. “After I left, I kept in contact with Liam and Niall. We’d write letters every once I a while, birds are excellent messengers. They told me about her, but I had hoped she’d be asleep as well so I wouldn’t have to see you together.”

Louis reached over and placed his hand over Harry’s. “I swear to you, Harry, my feelings for her were purely friendly. I know you have to reason to trust me, but she could never replace the feelings I have for you. Please know that.”

Not really knowing what to say to that, Harry just smiled and squeezed Louis’ hand. He wasn’t able to say what Louis wanted to hear just yet, but he hoped the prince knew that the feelings were reciprocated.             

Though Louis did look a little disappointed in Harry’s lack of response, he just smiled and nodded. They finished eating in silence, Louis not letting go of Harry’s hand until they had to get ready to leave the room.

As Harry took of the shirt he had slept in to put a clean one back on – one he had to borrow from Louis as he didn’t have any spare clothes – he felt Louis’ eyes on him, and he paused. Louis’ eyes were fixed on the druid mark on Harry’s hip, squinting thoughtfully. When he realized Harry had noticed him staring, he blushed and quickly turned around.  

Harry had only just gotten his shirt on when the door was swung open and Louis’ sisters came pouring in, all chattering excitedly.

Daisy and Phoebe were clinging to Harry immediately, both pulling at his arms to get his attention.

   “Harry we missed you!”

   “Don’t ever leave us again! Louis is no fun at all when you’re not here!”

   “He said you can do magic? Can you show us, we want to see!”

   “Please, I wanna see it!”

Louis sighed loudly and pulled the two girls gently away from Harry. “Girls girls, please, let him breathe. Harry is very tired from yesterday so please be nice to him, he will only show you if you sit and watch quietly.”

The two girls quickly dragged a blanket off Louis’ bed and made themselves comfortable on the floor. Charlotte and Félicité dragged two chairs over and sat too, also eager to see Harry’s magic. With eight eager eyes watching him expectantly, Harry felt a little unnerved. It still felt weird for him to do magic around someone he’d had to hide from for so long. He glanced at Louis who smiled softly at him, nodding encouragingly and suddenly Harry knew what spell to start with.

He cupped his hands and whispered, “ _Gewyrcan lif._ ” The girls gasped as his eyes glowed gold and he grinned at them, opening his hands. A small, blue butterfly fluttered out into the room making the girls squeal.

And just like that, Harry calmed down. He was going to blow their minds. He couldn’t imagine how scared they had been the last couple of days, and he wanted to make them forget that even for just a little while.  

Soon the room was sprinkled in glitter and flowers, butterflies and bubbles filling the air. The girls were completely enthralled with Harry’s magic and he hadn’t felt this alive in a long time. This was the magic he loved, the magic that made people happy. He danced around the room with the girls leaving a trail of sparkles in his wake - even Charlotte and Félicité got out of their chairs and joined them. He was sure the whole castle could hear their laughter, but he didn’t care.

Throughout it all, Louis stood leaned against his desk, a smile playing on his lips. Whenever their eyes met Harry saw nothing but fondness, and it made him feel warm all over.  

He was in the middle of showing the girls how he could create different shapes with fire when he noticed the queen had joined them in the room. On reflex he quickly put out the flames in his palm. The queen just smiled though and greeted her son and daughters.

   “I see I’m interrupting something,” she chuckled as Daisy and Phoebe gushed about what Harry had showed them. “I’m terribly sorry girls, but do you think I could borrow Harry here for a moment?”

The girls protested a little but stopped with a single look from their mother. Harry glanced at Louis only to find the prince looking as confused as he felt himself. What could she want?

She had never been anything but kind to him though, so he wasn’t nervous when she motioned for him to follow her out of the room. They walked in silence until they reached one of the many studies in the castle where she opened the door for him. The room was a little crammed and dusty, but the colours were warm.

   “Harry dear, I am sorry for stealing you away like this,” she said, motioning for him to sit on one of the chairs. She too sat down, smoothing out her dress to make sure it fell right. It always amazed him how she always managed to look her best, no matter the situation. She was smiling at him, eyes warm and kind and she reminded him so much of his own mother.  

   “I don’t mind,” Harry reassured her. “What can I do for you, Your Highness?”

   “Oh Harry dear, please call me Johannah. There is no need for formalities between family,” she laughed, patting his knee. “Don’t think I haven’t noticed how that son of mine looks at you. Took him a while to realize, but I’m happy he’s finally seeing what’s been in front of him all along. I just hope he’ll do something about it before it’s too late.”

It felt like Harry’s face was on fire and he only managed to stutter out a few incoherent words until he clamped his mouth shut. What were you supposed to say to something like that?

   “I wanted to thank you,” she continued, grasping his hands in her own. “I know my husband has already said this, but I think you need to hear it again. You had absolutely every reason to despise my family, yet you stood by my son no matter what. He may not say this a lot, but your loyalty means everything to him. It means everything to me, just knowing he has you by his side when he leaves to do something dangerous eases my worries. And I am certain you have done more for this kingdom than you would ever admit, and for that I thank you too. You even managed to make my stubborn husband see his faults and finally make him change that horrible law.”

   “I – I don’t even know what to say,” Harry mumbled, almost speechless at her praise.

   “You don’t have to say anything, dear. Just know that everything you have done for us is greatly appreciated,” Johannah smiled, squeezing his hands. “What you do from here is your choice, but I do hope you won’t abandon us completely. I think the kingdom could learn a lot from you. And we would miss you terribly of course.”

   “I’m not really sure just yet…” Harry admitted, “I have to go back and see my family first.”

   “You don’t have to decide anything right now. But please remember you are always welcome here,” she reassured him. She then nodded to herself and stood up, smoothing down her skirt once again. “Now I think I’ve taken up too much of your time, my son is probably worried out of his mind already.”

Harry smiled bashfully as she winked at him, and moved to open the door, then paused and turned around to look at her. “Can I – can I ask you something?”

   “Of course, dear. Anything.”

   “You… you knew about my magic, right? Before all of this happened.” He remembered how she had helped him save Félicité by getting her family out of the room - she had to have known before that. “How did you find out?”

She smiled and tilted her head. “Oh, I had a hunch for a long time. But I knew for sure when I had accidentally broken my mother’s jewelry box and saw you putting it back together when you thought no one was looking.”

Harry’s eyes widened. That was during one of his first months in the castle. He had overheard her mourning the loss of the jewelry box her mother had given to her as she hadn’t been able to find anyone who could fix it, so one night when he knew the whole family was in the throne room, he had snuck back to her chambers and fixed it. It had taken a couple of tries to find the right spell, but it came out as good as new. He hadn’t even noticed someone had been watching.

She had known for years and yet she had never told his secret. He tried to swallow the lump in his throat, feeling tears prickle in his eyes. Seeing he was unable to say anything, she just smiled warmly and nodded once, telling him she understood how grateful he was. He nodded back and turned to leave the room, afraid he would start crying it he stayed longer.

He suddenly found himself missing his mum even if it had only been a little over a day since he had seen her last.

Instead of heading back to Louis’ room, he found himself walking towards the castle gardens. He needed some fresh air to clear his mind. So much had happened and he felt like his head was spinning.   

Paul found him sitting by the apple trees, looking out over the castle grounds. Though the ground was nearly frozen and the wind had a chilling bite to it, Harry surprisingly wasn’t too cold. His cloak was warmer than it looked.

   “Harry, my boy!” Paul nearly hauled him off the ground and into a bone crushing hug. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you! How are you?”

   “I’m fine, Paul,” Harry laughed, hugging the physician back. He was so happy to see him, he had missed the older man a lot. “Tired and a little sore, but fine.”

   “Let me look at you properly,” Paul held Harry out at arm’s length and to Harry’s horror, started tearing up. “Look at you,” he mumbled as if talking to himself. Then he shook his head and squeezed Harry’s arms. “I always knew you were destined for greatness, and here you are changing history. I am so proud of you, Harry.”

   “Not you too,” Harry complained teasingly though he could feel tears prickle in his own eyes as well. He was crying way too much lately. “All of this praise is gonna go to my head.” When Paul just rolled his eyes and playfully shoved at the druid, Harry grinned. “Thank you, though.”

Laughing, Paul clapped Harry’s back maybe a little harder than necessary, making Harry stumble forward. “You’re right, son. I can imagine you have heard this quite a lot today. You deserve it though, you have let others get praise for your actions for far too long. I’m happy to see you’re finally getting the recognition you deserve. I even heard the king offered you a seat in his council, Harry that is amazing! I know you have turned it down, but I really think it is something you should consider for you future. You could do so much good.”

   “Thank you, Paul. Really. And I will probably do it sometime, but I feel like I need more experience in life first.”

   “You do whatever you need, Harry,” Paul said, putting his hand on Harry’s shoulder. “Just know I will always be proud of you.”

   “Now,” he continued, suddenly grinning from ear to ear. “Let’s talk about how the whole castle is whispering about you and Louis. Someone saw you in his bed, hmm? The prince finally made a move, did he? About time, if you ask me.”

   “ _Paul!_ ” Harry gasped, face flaming. He never expected for Paul to be such a gossip. But considering Paul had always teased Harry about… whatever had been going on between him and Louis, he should have seen it coming.

   “What?” Paul guffawed. “I’m happy for you. I think you’re good for each other, you balance each other out.”

Harry just rolled his eyes, but he felt his cheeks get warm. Hearing how everyone thought he and Louis would make a good couple made him feel secretly thrilled. Though he knew they had a long way to go, he really thought they could be good together too. And if being with Louis meant he had to be king someday… he would have to learn how to rule a kingdom. He would do anything for Louis. And honestly, with Louis by his side, Harry was sure he could make a pretty good king someday.

   “Are we talking about how Louis finally got into Harry’s pants?” Niall exclaimed cheerfully, suddenly popping up from seemingly out of nowhere. “Because I know for sure that this shirt - ” he tugged playfully on Harry’s shirt. “ - in fact belongs to our dear prince. But then again, you _were_ spotted in his bed.”

He waggled his eyebrows and someone whistled, Liam showing up behind the other knight. “You sure aren’t wasting any time.”

   “Would you guys stop it!” Harry whined, hiding his face in his hands. “Nothing happened, okay? We just slept. _Asleep!_ That’s it. Now shut up!”

They all laughed loudly and Harry whimpered in embarrassment. They were his best friends, and he loved them, but a vanishing spell suddenly seemed like a good idea. He wouldn’t send them far away… just the stables maybe. Or the swamp.

   “Oh, by the way Harry. Cadoc asked me to tell you that he’s sent a message to your village to let them know you’re okay, and that you’ll be heading home tomorrow. He’s going to hide out in your room until you leave.” Liam said. “Are you really leaving again?”

   “I promised my mum I would come back once I was able to,” Harry shrugged, looking at his feet. “I will come back, I just… I don’t know. There are still things I need to figure out on my own.”

Both Liam and Niall looked disappointed and sad that Harry was already thinking about leaving them, but he knew they would understand eventually. He just hoped that Louis would too.

   “Well… you gotta do what you gotta do,” Niall sighed, pulling Harry into a hug. “But let’s not worry about that now. The king holding a feast in your honor this evening and we have to get you ready. He’s already sent out messengers to every village in the kingdom to let them know about the new law. Everyone will want to meet you, so you have to look your best. Louis isn’t going to know what’s hit him!”

He kept talking as he dragged Harry back towards the castle. Something about flowers and tighter leather pants that would make Louis drool and everyone else jealous. Harry honestly wasn’t too sure what he was going on about, but he trusted that Niall wouldn’t let him look like a fool.   

As Harry walked through the castle, he was reminded of the spring festival. Thanks to him, they had managed to decorate the ballroom with flowers despite it being winter. The queen had kindly asked him if it was possible to get flower decorations and he had been happy to help. Colourful banners and drapes made the finishing touch on the decorations, and, despite the short notice, the chefs had managed to cook up a feast worthy of… well, a king.

Niall had made good of his promise and had found the tightest pair of leather pants possible. They weren’t exactly comfortable but Harry had to admit that they made him look good. He had also found a new tunic for Harry, a light blue one decorated with intricate silver details. Harry had originally wanted to wear the tunic his mother had made him, but when he found it in his old room where he left it months ago, it was all dusty and wrinkled. Though Harry would have been able to fix it, it felt like a sign. And he didn’t want to wear something that would bring back memories - he wanted to make new ones.

Finally, Niall had convinced Charlotte and Félicité, though they hardly needed convincing, to do Harry’s hair. They spent a long time carefully braiding his hair into a complex braid, topping it off with a colourful array of small flowers.    

Harry hated to agree with Niall, but he actually looked good.

And judging by the way Louis nearly dropped his cup when he spotted the younger boy, Harry would say he agreed.

Louis himself was wearing the official Camelot armor complete with the chainmail, bright red cape and – Harry’s favorite – his crown. He looked so official and Harry was maybe drooling a little.

He wanted to talk to Louis so bad, maybe dance a little now that it was allowed, but every time he began approaching the prince, someone came up and stopped him. People from the court, people from the village – everyone wanted to see the sorcerer, wanted to see him make magic tricks. And while he was only happy to teach people about magic, he wasn’t very keen on being treated like a show horse.

Every time he thought he was about to get away to get some air, someone would ask him to dance. He didn’t mind dancing with Louis’ sisters, he adored those girls, and he did manage to squeeze in a dance with Niall and Liam as well. It was the strangers who would normally look at him like he was dirt that suddenly found him interesting enough to give him their time of day he couldn’t stand. Being a sorcerer shouldn’t affect his status as a human being, but there was nothing he could do about it. He just hoped people would get used to it eventually.   

Hours went by and Harry felt like he was about to explode. Just as he was seriously considering using an invisibility spell on himself to get away from some nobleman who had actually offered him money to come and entertain his own court like a jester, Niall and Liam came to his rescue. They made up some excuse Harry didn’t even hear and pulled him away. They kept dragging him along then suddenly came to a halt, Liam pushing Harry out in front of him.

And then they were gone as suddenly as they had showed up. Harry spun around, looking for them confused and came face to face with a grinning Louis.

   “Hi beautiful,” he said softly, reaching up to tug playfully on a stray curl. He leaned up and pressed a light kiss to Harry’s ear. “I missed you today. It was hard seeing you out there, paying attention to everyone but me, when all I really want,” his voice dropped to a whisper. “Is to drag you away and keep you all to myself.”   

Heat spread from Harry’s face all the way to his chest and he giggled awkwardly, feeling all tingly. Louis had never been this… brazen before. Especially not when it came to showing his feelings in public. Perhaps he’d had a bit too much to drink. Though, luckily, he didn’t smell like it. 

   “I – I’m sorry?” he mumbled, squirming as Louis nuzzled his nose into the hair right behind Harry’s ear.

They were still in public, anybody could turn around and see them like this. Someone was probably looking at them right now, but Louis didn’t seem to care at all. The thought was both thrilling and terrifying.

   “L-Louis please,” his voice came out as an embarrassing whine. “Not now. T-there are people here, a-and – stop it!” Louis chuckled and drew back from where he had begun to nibble on Harry’s earlobe.

   “Sorry, my love,” Louis grinned, not looking sorry at all. “Let’s go dance, yeah?”

He pulled Harry to the middle of the floor where many other couples were already dancing. People turned their heads, eyes widening when they saw who Louis was dancing with, but instead of staring in disgust like Harry had expected, they just went back to dancing. They really didn’t care who Louis was with. Seems like being a sorcerer had its perks.

Louis spun him around and pulled him close, smiling softly at the younger boy. “You think too much,” he sighed, eyes fond. “Have fun, okay? Don’t worry your pretty little head.”

Breathing out, not noticing until now that he had actually been holding his breath, Harry nodded. Louis was right, this was a celebration held in his honor. He should be having fun, so that is exactly what he’s going to do. He let Louis twirl him around as a new song began and, with the room turning to a blur around him, Harry had never felt more free.

All Harry could see, hear and feel was Louis. Everything else was tuned out as they danced, they were the only ones left in the ballroom.

It seemed now that Louis was finally allowed to show his affections for Harry, he was holding nothing back. If Harry had thought it was overwhelming before, it was nothing compared to this. The way Louis was looking at him made him feel dizzy. It was… everything. Fondness, love… heat. If Harry looked in a mirror, he was sure he would see the exact same thing in his own eyes.

Although he had told himself he shouldn’t get too close to Louis, he knew there was no way that would have ever happened. He couldn’t have stayed away even if he tried. And he was so relieved to see that Louis seemed to feel the same.

They danced until he couldn’t feel his feet anymore, until Louis’ feet were probably screaming because Harry had stepped on them so much. Harry couldn’t remember the last time he’d had so much fun and he never wanted the night to end. The lights, the colors, the music, Louis… he wanted to burn the memory into his mind forever.

Unfortunately the night did have to come to an end. The townspeople began heading home, most having work again early the next morning and eventually the musicians packed up too. Harry felt as if he had drunk a bit too much of the mead, head spinning and a buzzing throughout his body, though he hadn’t had anything but water. Perhaps he was just drunk on Louis.

When the king and queen bid them goodnight, Harry figured it was time for him to go to bed as well. As if reading his mind, Louis grabbed onto Harry’s hand and started pulling him towards the royal quarters. This time Harry didn’t even protest, he knew he wouldn’t be able to be away from Louis. Not now.

The air between them felt tense, excited. The hairs on Harry’s body was standing on end. He wasn’t sure what was going to happen now but no matter what it was, he was ready.

Louis led him to his chambers, the sound of the door closing loud in what suddenly seemed like a much smaller room. The look Louis was giving him made Harry’s insides squirm with anticipation. Because Harry had taken a couple of more steps into the room as Louis closed the door, they were no longer touching and Harry could already feel how he was itching to touch Louis again.

As if reading his mind, Louis held out his hand towards the younger boy. He grinned crookedly, eyes running slowly over Harry’s body as he stepped closer. Nervous butterflies fluttered about in his stomach, but more than anything he just felt… excited.

The air between them sparked as they finally touched again, shivers running down Harry’s spine. Louis didn’t waste any time pulling Harry down, kissing him slowly, passionately. Harry gripped onto Louis’ shoulders tightly, fearing his knees would buckle underneath him. He had never been kissed like that before, with so much love and heat.

When Louis eventually pulled back to allow them to breathe, he cupped Harry’s face with his hands, gently rubbing his thumbs over Harry’s cheeks. “You’re leaving tomorrow, aren’t you?” he asked, surprising Harry. That wasn’t what he had expected.

   “I… I promised my family I would come back,” he admitted, hating how Louis’ smile fell a little.

Sighing, Louis closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against Harry’s. He was quiet for a while though he kept caressing Harry’s cheeks softly. Their breath mingled between them, both still panting slightly from their kiss. He wondered what Louis was thinking about. Was he regretting getting to close to Harry again? Though Harry knew he would return to Camelot someday, he couldn’t ask Louis to wait for him.

   “If you love something, let it go,” Louis eventually mumbled, hands moving down to squeeze at Harry’s hips. He smiled sadly. “If it comes back to you, it’s yours forever. If it doesn’t, then it’s not meant to be.”        

   “Louis…” Harry’s heart skipped a beat, tears welling up in his eyes.

   “I’ve read that somewhere,” Louis shrugged. “Seemed fitting, I guess. I know I can’t keep you here, it wouldn’t be fair to you. So… I’m gonna let you go, because I love you. What I did to deserve having you here with me, caring so much for me, I have no idea but I will be forever grateful, and I will take advantage of every single second I have you.”

   “I love you too,” Harry sniffled, rubbing his eyes to get rid of the happy tears. Louis’ face lit up like he was the sun itself. Harry felt like he was floating, his heart ready to burst out of his chest. No more words needed to be said between them, everything they felt were finally out in the open. All of their fears and worries, their secrets – their love. Now, there was nothing holding them back.  

Louis’ beaming smile slowly turned into a smirk and he squeezed Harry’s hips again, pulling him almost impossibly closer. Harry wasn’t sure who leaned in, but they were kissing again. Their mouths moved together almost frantically, hands exploring every part of each other.

Harry hadn’t realized that Louis had been walking them backwards until he suddenly fell back onto the bed, Louis pulling at his tunic. “As much as I love this on you, my love, I would like this a lot better on the floor.”

Scrambling up to please Louis, Harry quickly pulled off his tunic and threw it somewhere. He couldn’t really care less at the moment where it landed. He felt himself flush red as Louis hummed and nodded approvingly, heated gaze running over Harry’s exposed torso. It felt strange to be in front of Louis, bare like this for the first time, his druid mark a stark contrast to his otherwise pale skin.

Louis swiftly rid himself of his cape and chainmail before joining Harry on the bed, immediately capturing his lips in another searing kiss. Harry let his hands wander, trailing over the firm muscles of Louis’ back. He couldn’t stop squirming, the feeling of Louis being… everywhere, was overwhelming. Louis chuckled into their kiss and placed one of his hands back on Harry’s hip to keep him still.

It was only when they needed to breathe they broke their kiss, Harry feeling dizzy as Louis’ smouldering eyes met his own. Louis gave him no time to collect himself as he leaned in and began trailing kisses down his neck, reducing him to a trembling mess.

   “Lou,” he whined breathlessly, torn between wanting to pull him back up to his mouth and wanting him to keep going. Louis kept going.

He peppered small kisses from Harry’s neck and down his chest, occasionally poking out the tip of his tongue to tease him. Harry had no idea what to do with his hands, his arms lying uselessly on the bed as Louis continued his assault on Harry’s torso.   

Then he just stopped and Harry looked down in confusion to find the prince staring at his druid mark. Their eyes met as Louis glanced up, regret and rue shining out of his eyes. Harry smiled softly, reaching out to run his fingers through the older boy’s hair reassuringly. His eyes prickled with tears as Louis placed a gentle kiss on the druid mark before crawling back up so they were face to face.

   “I love you,” he mumbled, eyes squeezed shut as he leaned his forehead against Harry’s. “So much.”

   “I love you,” Harry whispered back, closing his eyes too. The moment felt strangely intimate and soft despite their previous frantic passion, Harry feeling like he could burst with love.

Their kiss started out slow and languid, both pouring all of their feelings into it. Though he had calmed down a bit, Harry’s body was still buzzing with want. He pulled Louis closer, his skin on fire where they touched. He wanted more.

He squeezed Louis’ shoulders in a desperate attempt to get his attention and Louis immediately understood, smirking against Harry’s lips. Once again he moved his attentions to Harry’s neck, licking and kissing every bit of skin he could get to. For a moment Harry forgot how he was supposed to breathe.

   “Louis please,” he begged. His voice broke and was barely audible, but he could barely form a sentence in his head.              

   “Patience, my love,” Louis grinned, darkened eyes glinting mischievously. “We have all night. Let me take care of you.”

Harry whined impatiently but just about melted into the bed as Louis leaned up and reclaimed his mouth, nibbling playfully on his lower lip. He lost himself in the kiss as their lips moved together in perfect sync. His mind was nothing but sparkling lights and _Louislouislouis,_ so he was only happy to let Louis take control. He wrapped his arms around Louis’ neck and let himself be engulfed by the feeling of Louis’ hands on his body.     

Harry woke up feeling hot all over. He yawned stretching his body out on the bed, his joints popping satisfyingly. There was a warm body lying next to him, an arm slung around his waist, and he smiled to himself as he was pulled back into a strong chest.

   “Stop moving,” Louis grumbled, voice muffled slightly by Harry’s hair as he pressed his face into the back of Harry’s head. “Too early. Sleep more.”

It didn’t even take a second for Louis to fall back asleep, his breathing slow and even. Harry couldn’t help but giggle as the prince subconsciously tightened his arm around the younger boy. He glanced over his shoulder. Louis looked so young when he was sleeping, the worry lines around his eyes and the hardened mask he usually wore replaced by a soft, almost childlike innocence.

And it was so, so far from the sensual smirk from last night. Harry felt his cheeks get warm and he hid his face in the pillow, biting his lip to keep back a grin. Last night had been… everything. He could still feel the ghost of Louis’ touch on his body.

He gently grabbed one of Louis’ hands, playing with his fingers. Could he really leave now? Although he knew he had to, both he and Louis had a lot of things to work out on their own, it was so hard to even think about it. Would Louis end up resenting him for leaving again?

   “You’re thinking too loudly,” Louis mumbled and sighed heavily, breath tickling Harry’s curls. “And you’re probably breaking my fingers.”

Realizing he had been squeezing Louis’ hand rather harshly, Harry quickly let go. He turned around with was rather difficult when Louis refused to slacken his hold on the younger boy. When he finally managed to wiggle around and face Louis, the prince had a smug smile on his face. He pulled Harry even closer and that’s when Harry noticed that they were both still very naked. His face flared up and Louis made it worse by wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

   “Louis, stop that,” Harry giggled, hiding his face in Louis’ neck. “You look ridiculous.”

With a sudden movement Louis rolled over, ending up hovering above the taller boy. “You look beautiful,” he grinned, nuzzling his nose with Harry’s. “So very pretty.”

Harry stuttered out something unintelligible then clamped his mouth shut, not sure just what he should say to something like that. His heart was beating so loudly he feared Louis could hear it. Louis kept surprising him like this and he wasn’t sure if his heart could handle it.

It seemed Louis didn’t mind Harry not saying anything as he just smiled softly and pecked Harry’s lips, mindful of their morning breaths. They smiled bashfully at each other, both thinking about the night before. If it was up to Harry, he never wanted to leave the bed again, he would be content just lying with Louis like this for the rest of his life.

   “We should get up before someone interrupts us,” Louis eventually mumbled, reaching up to brush some hair from Harry’s forehead. “Wouldn’t want to scar some poor servant for life.”

With another peck to Harry’s lips, Louis got out of bed, giving Harry a perfect view of his backside. He grinned over his shoulder as Harry let out a squeak and covered his eyes, though he was maybe peeking out between his fingers a little. Who wouldn’t, the prince was pure perfection.

As Louis got dressed it became clear that he was serious about getting out of bed, so Harry sulkily did the same. He picked up his, now very crumbled, tunic from the floor and was about to put it on when he felt something soft hit his head. He looked back confused and found one of Louis’ shirts. When he glanced up at Louis, the prince just rolled his eyes and motioned for him to put it on. It was cleaner that his tunic so Harry put it on, taking a second to breathe in the familiar scent of Louis. Though he had slept in it all night, he would never get tired of it.

   “Oh…” Louis said, sounding surprised, and Harry looked up, finding Louis looking at his desk with a smug smile. When Harry followed his line of sight his eyes widened. The desk that had been broken had obviously been replaced sometime last night, and Harry had seen a glimpse of the magnolia flower the night before. He remembered being briefly relieved that it hadn’t been crushed. 

But where the magnolia flower had been, was now a small magnolia tree about three feet tall. Its roots were imbedded in the wooden desk and a handful of beautiful flowers were in full bloom on the thin branches. His magic must have run wild again, it seemed to happen when he was… physically close to Louis. He should probably get that under control before he set fire to something.

   “First an earthquake and now this,” Louis laughed. “I must say, I quite like these reactions from you, it’s good for my ego. Is it gonna be like this every time?”

   “It’s not funny,” Harry pouted, crossing his arms childishly. Then paused, turning to Louis. “Wait, you knew the earthquake was me, back in the cave?”     

Louis laughed and shook his head, reaching out to touch the delicate petals of the magnolia. “Back then I obviously didn’t know, but I’ve been… searching my memories you could say. While you were gone and I was trying to wrap my head around it all, I started to wonder if there were signs I had missed – things that should have made me realize, you know? I have a few things I want to ask you about, but we’ll leave that for another time. I just…” he held out his hand, Harry stepping forward into his arms. Louis put his arm around Harry’s waist and pulled him close. “You’ve saved me quite a few times by now, haven’t you? I seem to remember some very lucky happenings whenever I was in trouble.”

   “Only when there was no other way out,” Harry mumbled with a shrug. “I know you can take care of yourself, but…”

   “Harry, love, I’m not mad at you,” Louis cut in, rubbing his hand over Harry’s stomach reassuringly. “I’m very grateful that you risked your secret to help me. It couldn’t have been easy.”

Harry just shrugged again and leaned into Louis’ touch. He didn’t want to discuss the past anymore, not when they had so little time together. They still had things to work out, but they could do that when they saw each other again. Right now he just wanted to enjoy their time together.

As if knowing they were having a moment, someone knocked on the door and Louis called out to invite them in. It was the same servant boy who had informed them Louis’ father had been looking for them, and he looked just as frightened as the last time. He was trembling as he walked over and but the food tray on the table.

   “G-good morning your highness,” he stuttered, bowing clumsily. As he began plating up their food for them, he nearly spilled a couple of times because his hands were shaking. Harry and Louis glanced at each other, both biting back smiles. The kid was adorable really.

   “Tell me your name,” Louis asked with a smile as he sat down.

   “I-it’s Malin, sire.”

Little warrior. Harry smiled, perhaps someday. Knowing Louis, he would probably have him join training with the knights to toughen him up and raise his confidence. He tried that with Harry but quickly learned that Harry was hopeless with a sword and a danger to everyone around him when trying to swing it.

Louis was speaking softly to the young boy while subtly showing him how he should position the different utensils. He was so gentle with him and Harry could already see how Malin was more relaxed, Louis even managing to make him laugh. This was the side of Louis that Harry loved the most, when he really showed how much he cared for other people. He would truly be an amazing king.

When their food had been served and everything was in its right place, Louis politely dismissed Malin again, not forgetting to tell him he did a good job. They ate in a comfortable silence, feet occasionally touching under the table until Louis finally just wrapped his ankle around Harry’s. Both of them took their time eating, neither of them wanting to face reality just yet.

No matter how much Harry wanted to, they couldn’t stall forever.

Louis pulled out one of his leather satchels and handed it to Harry wordlessly. When Harry looked up at him confused, he just smiled sadly. “That old rag you brought won’t last the trip home. Wouldn’t want your things dropped on the road.”

   “But Louis, I didn’t really bring anything with me,” Harry said confused but Louis just waved his hand dismissively and stalked out of the room, knowing Harry would follow. Harry quickly grabbed the few pieces of clothing he had in the room before following the prince out, who was already halfway down the hall.

When they reached Paul’s infirmary Louis helped Harry put the herbs he had brought with him into the new satchel and then unceremoniously threw the old one out the window and into the courtyard below. Considering where they were, it probably landed in the dunghill left from where the horses stood tied up when waiting for their riders. Harry sent Louis an unimpressed look, he had really liked that satchel, but Louis just rolled his eyes at him.

Paul added a few pouches of other ingredients for Harry to take back with him as well, they could maybe prove useful someday as he said.

While Harry and Paul were discussing what else he could bring, maybe some books to help educate the other druids more about herbal medicine, Harry noticed Louis slipping out of the room, returning only a couple of minutes later. He had a small pouch in his hands that jingled suspiciously when he walked.

He was about to slip it into Harry’s satchel when Harry reached out and grabbed the small pouch, narrowing his eyes at the prince who suddenly looked very sheepish. Harry’s jaw dropped. Inside the pouch were at least two handfuls of pure gold coins. “ _Louis!_ ” he gasped, this was more money than he had ever had in his life.

   “I just want to make sure you won’t need anything while you’re away,” Louis shrugged, scratching his cheek sheepishly. “And I know you want to take care of your family as well. Now you can.”

   “Louis, thank you,” Harry’s voice shook and he felt his lower lip wobble. He would not cry again, he had already cried too much, but he was so thankful. He pulled Louis into a tight hug. “This is more than I deserve.”

   “Consider it payment for putting up with me for this long,” Louis laughed and squeezed Harry back. “And you might as well get used to living like royalty. Don’t think I’m not going to spoil you even if you’re not here with me.”

Harry sniffled and wiped his eyes with his sleeve. He wasn’t even going to protest, knowing Louis would only make it worse if he did.

They walked to the stables together, Niall and Liam joining them from where they had been training with the other knights. When they arrived, Cadoc was already there waiting for them, his horse saddled and ready to go. Harry paused, chest tightening. This was it then, he was really leaving.

He hugged Liam and Niall tightly, promising them that he would keep in touch and that he would at least come and visit sometime again soon. They in return promised that they would come drag him back to Camelot themselves if he broke his promise.

Louis then pulled him aside, crushing the younger boy to his chest. He was shaking slightly, and Harry himself had a hard time not crying. It reminded him too much of the last time they had said goodbye like this. This time though, he knew it wouldn’t be goodbye forever. He would return one day. 

   “I know I said I would let you go, but is there not any way I can convince you to stay?” Louis mumbled into Harry’s shoulder.

   “I’m sorry,” Harry whispered. “I want to stay, but I can’t until I know for sure your father stands by his words. And… I want to be sure that you know for sure that this is what you want. I know that you have a lot to think about, and I would only confuse you more by staying. Right now it may seem like you are completely okay with all that has happened, but we both need time to process this. This is a big change for you, for the whole kingdom, and I think this is something you need to handle with your father. I would just be in the way for now.”

   “I hate it when you’re right,” Louis sighed, leaning his forehead against Harry’s with a small smile. “When did you become so wise?”

   “Always has been,” Harry giggled. “You just never listened to me before.”

   “Cheeky,” Louis poked his nose with a grin then pecked his lips. He rummaged through his pocket for a second then held something up for Harry. It was a gold medallion in a long, golden chain. The medallion had the royal crest on it, the dragon spewing fire. Louis lifted the necklace up and hung it around Harry’s neck. “Please, wear this at all times. If you ever find yourself in trouble, show this and they will know you are under my protection.”

Harry swallowed around the growing lump in his throat and nodded. On instinct he reached down to play with his ring, but on a second thought he pulled it off. He’d had this ring for as long as he could remember and it felt weird to take it off, but he wanted Louis to have some kind of promise that he would return. It was the least he could do.

He placed the ring in Louis’ palm and closed his fingers around it. “Hold on to this for me, okay? I’ll come back for it, I promise.”

Louis nodded, eyes looking suspiciously shiny but Harry knew his own weren’t much better. They leaned in at the same time, lips meeting for what could be the last time in months. He didn’t know how long they stood there, holding each other close, but it didn’t feel like long enough when they pulled back.           

Smiling sadly, Harry stepped back, their connection now lost. They nodded, making a silent promise to each other, and Harry turned to get on Gypsy. Cadoc was already trotting away on his horse, probably tired of waiting for Harry to get ready.

With a last smile, Harry once again headed for the woods. This time though, he knew it wouldn’t be forever. He wasn’t heading home, he was leaving his home behind, he knew that now. He would come back home someday, and he couldn’t wait to be with Louis again.          

**Epilogue**

_Oh, no! not in spring-time!_

_Summer, winter or fall!_

_No, never could I leave you at all!_

   “Master Leigh, are you listening to me?”   

Harry blinked and looked down, seeing Sefa pouting up at him. They were out collecting herbs in the forest, Sefa having insisted on coming along to learn. It was now early spring and the first flowers were beginning to bloom.

When he looked around he was reminded of the spring festival and he was a bit disappointed that he would be missing it. So much had happened since the last festival it was hard to wrap his head around, but things had been changing for the better. Liam and Niall still sent him news from Camelot and true to his words, the king had lifted the ban on magic. Small druid villages were once again flourishing throughout the kingdom. The king had even made a small council of sorcerers to help him make decisions concerning magic.

He really was doing his best to right all the wrongs he had done.

Although he hadn’t heard anything from Louis, he wasn’t that worried. He knew the prince was busy helping his father with all the new changes, and, Harry hoped, spending some time thinking about his own aversion towards magic. 

Harry had been doing some thinking himself after coming back. Thought about his worries for the future, his relationship with Louis and ultimately leading to him becoming king… it was a lot. He had spent many hours talking with his mum about it and she had taken it all surprisingly well. She was still wary of the prince, but was willing to give him a chance.

Gemma however was another story, but Harry knew she was just being protective of him. She would change her mind eventually. Actually, he was pretty sure that she and Louis could get along swimmingly if she just gave him a chance.  He planned to take both his mother and sister with him when he returned to Camelot, have them meet Louis and his family and see the castle village he loved so much. They probably wouldn’t stay as they weren’t much for life in the big cities, but he would come visit them so often they wouldn’t get to miss him.

Both of them had been so relieved and proud when Harry and Cadoc returned and the whole village had celebrated their triumph for days. Harry had been so busy telling the story over and over again that he didn’t even have time to miss Louis. The kids loved to hear him tell stories and many of the adults were curious as well. Cadoc didn’t like the attention so Harry stepped forward and took the brunt of it.

   “Master _Leigh,_ ” Sefa huffed, pulling on Harry’s cloak. “You’re doing it again now! You’re not listening to me.”

   “I’m sorry, Sefa,” Harry chuckled, scratching the back of his neck. “What were you saying?”

She began rambling on about some herb she thought she had found but Harry found it hard to concentrate for some reason. He zoned out a bit and only managed to actually hear half of what she was saying, but when nodding at the right times it seemed she didn’t notice this time.

They continued with their search, Sefa pointing at every plant she saw to tell Harry what it was so she could show him that she remembered what he had taught her. He was very impressed with her and he was sure he would have missed quite a lot of them if she wasn’t there with him. His mind just wasn’t cooperating today. His body felt tense, like it was expecting something to happen. Had he forgotten something?

He was reaching out for what he thought was an herb to help with stomach aches when Sefa grabbed onto his sleeve and stopped him.

   “Master Leigh, what are you doing?” she asked, eyes narrowed. “That’s a nettle. You can’t pick it like that.”

   “Oh,” he said dumbly, looking down. Sure enough, he was about to grab a handful of a stinging nettle.

   “Are you okay, Master Leigh? You seem off today,” she then asked, patting at Harry’s cheek. “Maybe we should go back. I’m sure the others have found enough for now.”

With a sigh, Harry admitted defeat. She was right. He was no use to anyone at the moment. In this state he would probably end up accidentally picking a poisonous herb. “I’m sorry, Sefa. I guess I’m a bit scatterbrained today. We’ll do another lesson tomorrow, okay?”

She nodded and happily started skipping back towards the village, Harry following after slowly. What was wrong with him today? He shook his head to clear his thoughts. Probably just a lack of sleep. Even if it had been only two days, he had gotten used to sleeping with Louis beside him and had found it hard to fall asleep ever since. He missed having Louis’ arms around him.

He planned on returning at the end of spring. There were still things he needed to teach the kids in the village, as well as the adults who wanted to learn about herbal medicine. By summer, all loose ends would be tied up and Harry would have nothing holding him back from returning to Camelot. Honestly he couldn’t wait. He and Louis had waited long enough.

   “Master Leigh, look! A butterfly!” Sefa cheered. “It’s so pretty!”

Harry looked up and felt his heart stop. He dropped the basket and took off running towards the village, knowing Sefa would be able to find her way back alone. He needed to be sure.

Behind him, a small, blue butterfly fluttered up towards the shining sun.

He felt a strange sense of déjà vu as he ran in between the houses, seeing most of the village already gathered in the square. People were talking excitedly amongst themselves and most seemed to stare at him strangely as he ran by.

When he finally reached the square, almost falling over his own feet to get there, his knees almost gave out under him, and he gasped, hands flying up to cover his mouth.

It was really him.

Liam and Niall were on either side of him, both having a bouquet as large as their torsos in their arms. Both were beaming widely despite looking quite ridiculous with flowers everywhere. Malin, who Harry knew had been made to be Liam’s squire, was standing in front of a beautiful, black horse, covered almost from head to toe in flowers as well. Magnolias.

And on the very familiar, black horse, sat Louis. He was wearing his chainmail shirt with a Camelot crested, red tunic over it, as well as his red cape and his crown. The prince had even grown a bit of a beard and looked so much more mature. It was obvious he knew that Harry had a thing for when he was dressed up like that and he had gone all out. Harry was not complaining, not at all.

When seeing Harry, Louis just smirked and elegantly dismounted his horse. Harry watched him walk closer but he felt unable to move, frozen in shock of seeing the prince in the village. Why was he here? Why now? It didn’t look like anything bad had happened, so why… His heartbeat sped up, hope blooming in his chest.

   “Harry, my love,” Louis grinned when he reached Harry, holding out a hand to the younger boy. “I have come to retrieve what is mine. When you left you stole a piece of my heart and I demand you give it back. The punishment for theft is a month in the dungeons, but I have a much better idea.” He pulled Harry closer, the two of them now nose to nose. “I’m thinking that spending the rest of your life with me is punishment enough for stealing my heart, don’t you?”

Harry hadn’t even noticed he was crying until Louis reached up to wipe the tears away from his cheeks. He sniffled and grabbed onto the front of Louis’ chainmail. “Is this your way of asking for my hand in marriage?” he croaked out. “Because I’m not sure you brought enough flowers.”  

Laughing, Louis nuzzled their noses together before stealing a quick kiss. “I’ll give you all the flowers you want when we get back home.”

It was admittedly not how Harry had imagined being proposed to, and it was probably too soon to even be thinking about it, but at the moment Harry couldn’t come up with a single reason for him to say no. They still had a lot to work out, but Harry trusted that Louis wouldn’t have come for him unless he was completely sure he was ready. Whatever problems they’d face, they would handle together. Harry was ready, they had both grown a lot while they were apart, it was now time they grew together.

   “Well, if I get my flowers…” Harry said slowly, a smile growing on his face. “I’ll gladly take my punishment.”

Louis smile was blinding and Harry could have sworn he heard him sob as he crushed Harry to his chest. Harry though didn’t want just a hug so he gently pushed Louis back a little only to lean down and kiss him passionately. He didn’t care that the whole village was watching. He didn’t care that the elders had found out about his relationship with the prince. This was all he ever wanted, and he was not going to let anyone ruin this moment for him.

They could worry about everything else later, right now there was only him and Louis.

   

 

**Author's Note:**

> You made it to the end, thank you so much, I hope you liked it!! If you did, please let me know, kudos and comments are always appreciated. ♥ 
> 
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